ICC World Cup 2019 | I don't agree with censorship on commentators and happy not being part of it, writes Michael Holding

06/13/2019

Former Windies pacer Michael Holding has written a brutal letter to the ICC, offering to give up his commentary duties after he was asked by the cricketing body to censor his comments regarding mistakes by the umpires. However, he went on to say later that the matter has now been resolved.

Having first commentated on live television broadcasting 29 years back in 1990 by when he was already a regular commentator for radio stations, Michael Holding has been around the circuit for quite some time now and has seen the game’s off-field aspects develop all around him. One of the fastest bowlers ever to have graced the game, the bowler was asked by the ICC to be careful with his critical remarks on air.

Huw Bevan, the production head for ICC's rights partner Sunset & Vine Asia, wrote an email to Holding on June 7 stating "the importance of maintaining the highest standards and uphold the game's best values and spirit while covering the tournament".

"Inherently in live television, there are occasions when on-field decisions cause reason for discussion or debate, but as ICC TV host broadcasters, our (Sunset & Vine) duty is not to judge or highlight mistakes,” the email read.

It was written after Holding had made harsh remarks about the umpires who had made many wrong decisions in the World Cup match between West Indies and Australia. Gayle was given out wrongly twice but he managed to overturn the decision using DRS, before being finally given out on what should have been a free hit since Starc had bowled a big no-ball the previous delivery which had been missed by the umpires. Later, skipper Jason Holder was also given out off an incorrect LBW decision.

"We had an incident in the (WI vs Aus) match where we highlighted on air during an analysis segment (which Holding denies) that a no-ball should have been called, this is exactly the kind of thing we need to avoid putting on air. Before the event, we went to great pains to explain to you all as senior production and commentary personnel of the need to avoid this kind of thing. It's critical for us that we should never amplify umpires' mistakes by giving airtime to those incidents nor show the umpires in a bad light. We should also be very careful not to look to create controversy around an event or match at any time,” added the email.

However, Holding was not very receptive to the attitude being highlighted in the email and said it was more important to protect the way the gentleman's game is played than protect the wrong decisions. He refused to give in to the censorship being forced upon the commentators and wrote a scathing letter in reply to the email, reports the Times of India.

"If those umpires yesterday were FIFA officials, they would have been told to pack their bags and head home. They would not have been given another World Cup game to officiate. As a former cricketer, I think cricket should be held to a higher standard. Is the objective to protect the umpires even when they do a bad job? I am sorry, but I am not going to be part of that. Please let me know if I should be heading back to my home in Newmarket instead of heading to Cardiff because I don't agree with what is being suggested here and happy not being part of it,” read the letter.

However, in a later statement, Holding said the matter was now resolved and he was more focused on the cricket being played in the tournament rather than such off-field matters.

"It's true that there was a mass email sent out after the West Indies/Australia game and I did see fit to respond. But as far as I am concerned, the matter has been resolved and I have and hopefully, everyone has put it behind them. I don't really want to distract from the World Cup that is already suffering from some uncooperative weather,” Holder said.