Amazingly, in a testament to the directness of his methods and the speed he generated, 12 of his 14 victims were either bowled or LBW. “There is nothing that thrills a fast bowler more,” Holding recalled in his first memoir, ghosted by the late Tony Cozier, “than seeing the stumps flying from behind a batsman and at The Oval I hit them nine times. Not only to my own delight but to the unrestrained delight of every West Indian on the ground as well, I clean bowled Tony Grieg in both innings.”
Holding claims that he ran in and bowled as quickly as he could for the more than 53 overs he delivered during the match. Never once did he think of slackening off. For bowling of high pace and impeccable accuracy over a sustained period it is doubtful his efforts that day could be bettered.
But there were times, he said, that he bowled faster.