Maybe I don't get as much credit as other contemporaries, believes Jason Holder
Ahead of the first Test between England and West Indies, Jason Holder has claimed that despite being at the top of Test rankings for a year and a half, he does not get as much credit as his contemporaries. Holder also wished Ben Stokes the best for his first Test as the captain of England.
Having averaged below 30 with the bat for three straight years in the longest format of the game, Holder finally broke free in 2018 when he finished the year averaging 37.33 in six Tests. The next year was even as far as numbers were concerned as the Windies skipper ended up scoring at 49.14 in five matches. In terms of bowling, his performances have improved even more as the 28-year-old averaged a mere 12.39 and 17.25 in back to back years.
That has seen him establish himself as one of the premier all-rounders in the world and propel him to the top of the all-rounders' rankings in Test cricket. However, when the debate of the best in the game come up, his name very rarely makes the cut - a fact not lost on Holder.
"I don't really like to get into these personal accolades or ICC rankings. Ben (Stokes) has always been talked up and quite rightfully so, he's a really good cricketer, but the ICC rankings say that I'm the No. 1 ranked allrounder and maybe don't get as much credit as probably I deserve, who knows?” Holder said before the first Test, reported ESPNCricinfo.
"I don't get caught up with it to be honest. Journalists are there to write their stories, I am merely here to play cricket. It's always a good battle on the field when you face competitors like Stokesy, face competitors around the world."
The last time these teams met in the longest format, it was the Windies that grabbed the bragging rights along with the Wisden Trophy. But England have slowly recovered from the defeat and even been able to make their way back into the elites of world cricket. However, this time around, at least for the first Test, they would be without the services of their captain Joe Root who would be missing the series opener in Southampton. With Stokes being handed the reigns of the side, Holder was all praise for his opposite number ahead of the contest.
"I'll give my advice to Stokesy after the series. England are in capable hands: he's an excellent cricketer, a great competitor and I'm sure the guys in his dressing room look up to him. He'll have experienced campaigners in his dressing room to help him along, I'm sure, so I wish him all the best in this one game as captain," Holder added.
While West Indies’ bowling has thrived recently, their batting has left a lot to be desired. Quite often it has been the lower middle order that has dragged them out of trouble in recent years but Holder refused to pay too much heed to it, stating that cricket is a team sport. He did, however, not reject the idea of promoting himself or Shane Dowrich up the order if needed.
"It's on the radar for me. I've had success and been consistent where I've been batting but no doubt at some stage I will definitely come up the order, it's just a matter of when,” Holder revealed.
"I know a lot has been said about the lower half contributing the bulk of the runs in the recent past but if you look at the calibre of players we've got. Kraigg Brathwaite has had success here in England, Shai Hope has had success here in England, Shamarh Brooks has had success in youth team cricket in England and that's just to name a few. I'm more than confident that these guys will do well here in this series.
"It doesn't only have to come from the top order. We're putting a lot of emphasis on the top order. Yes, they probably haven't lived up to the expectation but it's still a team sport and we've just got to put runs on the board. However we get them, personally I don't care, it's just a matter for us to put the runs on the board and give our bowlers something to work with."
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