Jason Holder - Holding Windies together with unconventional grace and all embracing talent

Test Cricket, the most competitive form of the game, is the biggest test of characters, be it graceful, aggressive or both. The longest format is the greatest leveller; it tests you and rewards you according to its relentless parameters. Much like the sorting hat in Harry Potter, it knows which character belongs where. In all, the question is whether the character in question is a cricketer of all ages or someone who marks the epoch in their era. 

But the fact that Holder was declared a part of the Men's Test Cricket Team in the most recent ICC awards opened many eyes. The choice was based purely on the fact that he was the best all-rounder in the past year. He rightfully deserves to be a part of any team in the world right now. Perhaps, he is that part of the Caribbean team providing the balance that the team has lacked over the past couple of decades. He rises to the occasion whenever the team was in dire need.

The track at Sabina Park in Kingston, where the match is underway, once had the radiance that intimidated the visiting teams for the pace it held. West Indies ruled the cricket world with sheer dominance in that era. But the story isn’t the same today. In fact, the story revolving the downfall of Windies Cricket has a life of its own. After losing the first Test match to the visitors, West Indies were looking to square the series in Jamaica where the track sported green grass with a hint of moisture.

Holder decided to go with three-man pace attack, comprising Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and himself, as opposed to the four-man attack in Antigua. Off-spin bowler Rahkeem Cornwall, making his debut at his home ground, bowled 27 out of the 90 overs on his first day of Test cricket. Eventually, a majority of the responsibilities of the Windies side was burdened on their captain. Despite being the third seamer, he bowled better than Roach and Gabriel combined. Throughout Day 1, he switched between attack and defence and produced the figures of 20-6-39-3, which clearly showcase the ability of Holder to be economical while also taking wickets. He completed his sixth career five-wicket haul on Day 2 after dismissing Risabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari. 

This was all before Jasprit Bumrah brought down carnage - 6/27 that includes a hattrick - upon the Windies batsman, who only managed to put up a total of 117 in response to India’s 416. Once again, Holder’s heroics were eclipsed. In the last 20 months, no other all-rounder has taken more wickets than Holder, who also has the best batting average in that span. And yet, somewhere between Ben Stokes’ dance with his luck and Bumrah's world-class bowling, Holder’s achievements remain uncelebrated. When in reality, Holder has better numbers than Stokes over a period of 20 months and the Windies skipper also overhauls Bumrah in terms of bowling average and strike rate in the same span.