Picking the brains of Roach and Gabriel during England tour was invaluable, reveals Chemar Holder

Should things continue to transpire the way they have been over the course of the last 18 months or so, then it shouldn’t be long before there are two “Holders” in the West Indies Test side. The first one, Jason, we all know of, but the second one, Chemar, who we don’t, might yet, some day, become the best of the two. It certainly isn’t beyond his reach, that’s for sure. 

So when the youngster received his maiden Windies call-up earlier this year, for the historic tour of England, it was almost an inevitability, rather than a surprise. Although Holder’s participation in the tour was restricted to just two intra-squad warm-up matches representing the “Brathwaite XI”,  the tour, as revealed by the man himself, was far more valuable to him than what meets the eye. In an exclusive chat with SportsCafe, Holder spoke about his maiden run out with the Windies side and revealed how the month-long tour provided him with the opportunity to pick the brains of three of the best in the world - Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel.

“We went into a secure bubble, we had to work from there, train hard everyday, play cricket hard. I didn't really get the chance to talk to Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson but, at the same time, I had the likes of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder in my own camp, so I picked their brains, a lot, during the tour. I would say that I got some good advice from the trio, during the tour.”

It is one thing travelling to England as a 22-year-old for your first ever outing with the national team, it is completely another to do so and live life inside a bio-bubble. But as if the fact that Holder’s first experience in international cricket came inside a bio-bubble isn’t crazy enough already, the youngster, then, from England, directly transported himself to another bio-bubble in Trinidad, where he spent a week in quarantine with his St Lucia Zouks teammates for the Caribbean Premier League. 

“In England, there weren't many teams, so you had to get up early to get breakfast. The biggest difference is that here (in the Caribbean) players don't have the luxury to be able to train as much (as in England). In the bubbles in England, it was a lot easier to do fitness drills and also to roam around because the hotels were basically attached to the ground, but here in Trinidad, you have to wait a certain time - time slots - to go and do your stuff. It is kind of tough knowing that you are accustomed to doing one thing and now everything has changed,” Holder said of his bio-bubble experience. 

Unfortunately, or fortunately, it is what it is and at least for a good part of one more week, Holder will have no option but to spend life inside a bio-bubble. On the flip side, however, the youngster wouldn’t really be minding spending time in the bio-bubble in Trinidad, for his side, St Lucia Zouks, have been on an absolute rampage thus far this season. After enduring a disappointing campaign in CPL 2019, finishing fifth, the Zouks, this season, under the leadership of Darren Sammy, have already won more games than they did in CPL 2019 and are currently placed third, primed to clinch a spot in the knockouts. 

“Looking back at the CPL my team won, Barbados, there was a lot of advice given by the experienced players and I took in a lot of that information and put it into my cricket. So I'm looking forward to getting more opportunities (this season) and hoping everything goes well. I'm looking to do the best for the team (St Lucia Zouks) and also take a few wickets,” Holder spoke of his CPL goals and experiences. 

Holder not getting enough games to play in the shortest format can be attributed to his record in T20s, which is not so impressive. In 7 T20 games, the 22-year-old has struck just 6 times, conceding over 10 an over, and this might, perhaps, be a byproduct of his style - bowl fast and attack the batsmen - which is invariably better suited for red-ball cricket. Speaking of his approach in T20 cricket, the right-armer revealed that he consciously tries not to be predictable but conceded that there are a lot of intangibles that play its hand in the format.  

He will, of course, have plenty of time to work on those variations, but for now, Holder’s focus will solely be on his side’s next game against table-toppers Trinbago Knight Riders on September 5.