Cricket's immortals: Michael Holding

The power of words was on display on the 8th of July, 2020 as a powerful message against racism and colonialism was sent across to viewers on Sky Sports Cricket. After a three-month break, international cricket was back. But for all the build-up and excitement about what might unfold on the pitch, it was something that happened off it that had the most impact. So often as he does, Michael Holding was right on the money and his eloquence led Sky Sport's unflinching take on racial injustice. 

One cannot understand the history of cricket without educating themselves about the imperialism of the English. Sports cannot be separated from politics, nor can it be played without cause. The rivalries of the West Indies and England in cricket are deeprooted to the relationship between both countries and to appreciate the rivalry, the past cannot be ignored. The hostility of Holding's bowling and Viv Richards batting cannot be appreciated without understanding what they stood for, and what they fought against.

Before the first ball was bowled in the Summer of 1976, the words of former England captain Tony Greig "we’re going to make them grovel" fired up the West Indies line-up to destroy England's ego. Apart from being racist, Greig’s comments were a direct blow to the Windies team that comprised of successors of slaves and laborers. The 1976 cricket season in England staged some of the best moments in cricket, proving a treat for the spectators if not for opposing batsmen. The fast bowlers line up of West Indies terrorized batsmen on English soil, and Michael Holding proved an irreplaceable acquisition to the team and was a decisive factor in several triumphs of the West Indies team. His deceptive approach to the stumps with a graceful and rhythmic action would result in launching lethal deliveries at the batsmen. Hence, he is nicknamed 'The Whispering Death'.

Over the last few weeks, Sky Sports and Michael Holding's discussion on racial inequality has received over six million views on Twitter. Holding's plea was described as an "unflinching masterpiece on race" by The Guardian and "the finest spells seen on the ground" by The Daily Telegraph. The first test will go on to be mainly remembered for Michael Holding's monologue on live television. Known for his ferocious spells against batsmen on the pitch, the former West Indies great and now a Sky Sports commentator this time set his focus on both conscious and unconscious racists on live television. As the rain stopped play, viewers were given a lesson in history and institutional racism. In his impassionate speech on the Black Lives Matter movement, he explained that further education on the history of racial injustice is a must in bringing change in the society. 

Speaking about the common responses from the public, he said: "The public say 'oh, it's a long time ago, get over it'. No, you don't get over things like that." The 66-year-old Jamaican, suggesting that ignorance towards racist attitudes has contributed largely to the dehumanization of black people, said: "what people need to understand is that these things stem from hundreds of years ago." In his speech, he made references to the video of my Amy Cooper, a white woman calling the police on a black man who was birdwatching in Central Park in New York in May 2020, the representation of Christ as a white man, and the lack of knowledge about who invented the filament that helps light bulbs shine. Not much is taught about Lewis Howard Latimer, the inventor of the carbon filament to allow lights to continuously shine. Michael revealed: "in school, I was never taught anything good about Black people. And you cannot have a society that is brought up like that, both White and Black, that only teaches what is convenient to the teacher." Emphasizing on the need to educate both sides of history, he continued: "History is written by the conqueror, not by those that are conquered. History is written by the people who harm, not by the people who get harmed. And we need to go back and teach both sides of history and until we do that, and educate the entire human race, this thing will not stop."

This is not the first time that Holding has expressed his views on racism. Cricket is a sport intertwined with British colonialism. For countries such as the West Indies, India, and Sri Lanka to name a few, defeating the British colonialists in their sport, was seen as getting the better off their masters. The sociocultural sports documentary "Fire in Babylon" explored the golden era of West Indian cricket, from 1975 to the early 1990s, and featured legends in the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Clive Llyod, and Michael Holding. While the Caribbean islands enjoy a diverse culture, cricket was highly celebrated and enjoyed as it had the ability to unite them. Michael explained: "It was an eye-opener to come to England and see how much cricket meant to West Indians living in England and how they used it to lift themselves." In the film, Holding discusses a generation of players crushing established powers and excelling in a sport introduced by the English. During a 15-year period, West Indies did not lose a Test series and were regarded as the finest teams in cricket history. With a shared history of slavery and imperialism, the dominance of the West Indies had political ramifications and influence of Caribbean people across the globe and countries such as South Africa in their fight against apartheid. 

An emotional Michael Holding didn’t hold back as he delivered a powerful message against racism in his eloquent and confrontational broadcasting. It was capped by former England captain Nasser Hussain saying: "All I’ll say to those people who say ‘not again’ is that a few weeks ago I watched a black man being killed in front of my eyes on Channel 4 news, and my natural reaction was to look away. Next time that footage came on, I forced myself to watch because I felt something inside of myself say: ‘You’ve been looking away too long.’”

#cricket #blacklivesmatter #westindiescricket #england #skysports #sports