CHEERS, MR HOLDING

It’ll be a very difficult act to follow. Michael Holding, after a distinguished playing career, and even more stellar one in the commentary booth. Forthright, funny, insightful, sensitive and possessed of a dreamy Jamaican tone, Holding was a favourite for viewers. He highlighted how racism continues to divide society in one of the most outstanding pieces of television ever produced. Holding will be sorely missed in the commentary box.

THE BCCI

Holding never bothered bowing to the

BCCI in the manner so many other explayers turned commentators do. Those IPL commentary gigs are worth a lot, so who wants to go around biting the hand that feeds them? Holding wasn’t a fan of T20, so didn’t need the IPL and so had no qualms about criticising it and the organisation that oversees that tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India. During an ODI between Pakistan and the West Indies, Holding outlined some thoughts. “I wrote