Michael Holding

Last month, the England Cricket Board announced the decision to pull out of the tour of Pakistan, which was expected to include matches for both the men’s and women’s teams.  The decision came sharply on the back of the New Zealand’s team's choice to pull out of a similarly planned tour after citing security concerns.

The ECB cited a concern for "mental and physical well-being" as the primary reason for taking the decision particularly as the group had ‘already coped with a long period of operating in restricted Covid environments’.  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chair Ramiz Raja accused the ECB of failing a fellow member of the cricket fraternity and Holding was also not convinced by the body’s reasons.

"The ECB statement doesn't wash with me," the always forthright Holding said. "No substance."

"Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything because they know what they did was wrong,” he added.

"So they put out a statement and hid behind a statement. It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with Black Lives Matter.

"I won't go back into that because I've said enough about that. But what that signal sends to me, is the same Western arrogance.

"I will treat you how I feel like treating you, it doesn't matter what you think, I'll just do what I want."

Khawaja has been told by the ICC to keep his humanitarian appeal for the people of Palestine away from the cricket field. He was officially warned for wearing a black armband during the first Test between Australia and Pakistan in Perth.

He wanted to sport a black dove on his shoe and bat in the upcoming Boxing Day Test but even that was rejected by the ICC, and Holding says he is not “surprised” by their stance of “hypocrisy”.

“The ICC regulations say re messaging ‘approval shall not be granted for messages which relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes,” Holding explained.

“So how the f*** people were allowed to take a knee for BLM (Black Lives Matter), and stumps were covered with LGBTQ colors?” Holding questioned while speaking to The Weekend Australian.

Holding argued that the ICC has not made their stance clear.

“If it would have been some other organisation with a consistent track record, I would have been surprised, but not the ICC," he declared.

The fast-bowling legend accused the ICC of being “hypocrite” and have shown again that “they lack spine as a governing body”.

Like Holding, other observers believe that by banning Khawaja's move, as well as his subsequent request to adorn his bat with the peace symbol of a dove holding an olive branch, the ICC has inadvertently boosted his message, while revealing its own hypocrisy.

Did Cricket West Indies (CWI) run the risk of being involved in money laundering when it acted as a conduit for more than US$100,000 intended for the development of cricket in Dominica in 2018?

That and more are questions being asked by auditors and former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding, who spoke out on the issue which was among several red flags raised by auditors in a recent report on the operations of the CWI.

According to Holding’s reading of the audit, that CWI has reportedly classified as ‘confidential’, but which the fast bowler characterized as damning and harsh, in 2018, the CWI received funds of US$134,200 from a sponsor on or about August 8, 2018, on behalf of the Dominica Cricket Association (DCA).

The money was received from a third party, which appeared to be an offshore corporation, Holding explained.

The auditors, Holding said, wrote that it was unclear why the funds did not go directly to the DCA.

However, the auditors, according to Holding, said the money was paid over to the DCA in three tranches; US$104,100 on November 16, 2018; US$15,700 on August 15, 2019, and US$14,400 on September 21, 2019. “In this particular situation, CWI was the financial conduit,” the auditors are quoted by Holding as adding.

The situation has created some underlying concerns.

“What due diligence was performed to ensure that the source of the funds was legitimate and that the funds were clean from an anti-money laundering compliance perspective,” Holding read.

According to Holding, the auditors also wanted to know what measures were taken to minimize the risk CWI may have been involved in money laundering, noting that they were unable to find an executed agreement for the transaction.

The funds were supposed to be specifically earmarked for cricket development in Dominica. However, there was no evidence CWI obtained confirmation from the DCA that the funds were used as directed.

Holding, while speaking with host Asif Khan on ‘Michael Holding Nothing Back’, also wanted to know whether any directors of the CWI board were involved in the transaction.

The former fast bowler turned commentator was the one who brought the matter to light while speaking with Khan, revealing that he had received a copy of the auditors’ report in his email and thought the Caribbean people would be interested in hearing its contents.

He also wanted to know what process was implemented by the CWI in authorizing the transaction.

However,  Glen Joseph President for the DCA told Andrew Mason, host of the popular Mason and Guest on Friday, that he was surprised by Holding’s comments.

He said he was aware that CWI had received the money and kept it for a long period of time.

Joseph explained the CWI held onto the funds because they were having cash-flow issues and had to use the money for some operations.

“This resulted in our academy having to struggle because we had no money to run the academy so realising the fact that we needed our funds, I made a demand for these funds and I am aware that it was sent. All money that was sent was received and it was solely used for cricket development purposes,” Joseph said.

“Recently, Mr Wilbur Harrigan, who is principal of PKF, (a Dominican firm of auditors and consultants) visited during the time when CWI came to visit in connection with the upcoming game against New Zealand and asked questions on the transaction.

“We explained to him that we received the money, what the money was spent for and shortly after we were able to send him documents on the spending of the funds. There are documents to prove that these funds were used for cricket development purposes. That I can confirm for anybody.”

Joseph said anyone who wishes to get information on the issue can contact the DCA.

“We are very transparent in what we do. I try my best to ensure that we give an account for every dollar received and every dollar spent.”

However, questions remain unanswered with regards to this issue and others raised in the report Holding read, which suggest the auditors were expressing grave concern.

“We have become aware of several matters that cause consternation with respect to whether things were done in the best interest of Cricket West Indies,” Holding quoted the auditors saying.

The competition, which was introduced in August of last year, is meant to be the premier championship for Test cricket.

The tournament features nine of the twelve Test-playing nations, each of whom plays a Test series against six of the other eight teams. Each series consists of between two and five matches, so although all teams will play six series (three at home and three away), they will not play the same number of Tests. Each team will be able to score a maximum of 120 points from each series and the two teams with the most points at the end of the league stage will contest the final.

Holding has however taken exception with both the format of the competition and its established points system.

"It doesn't work," Holding was quoted as saying by Wisden. "First of all, the points system is ridiculous. You can't play five Test matches and get the same amount of points if you play two Test matches,” he added.

"And secondly, at some point, you're going to have teams who know they cannot get to the final and so those Test matches aren't going to be all that entertaining. People know it's just another game."

He also expressed his satisfaction that players are keen to represent the West Indies once more.

The former fast bowler was speaking on the Mason and Guest show in Barbados on Tuesday.

He said he has been told that the year-old CWI administration had set up committees to get some key things done but most importantly, he said there were good signs for West Indies cricket following the emergence of talented players such as Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope.

"Another thing that I am happy with is that youngsters are now looking forward to representing the Windies again, and everybody is now making themselves available again, which is important," he said.

"I see light at the end of the tunnel because I see talent. Once there is talent, there has to be light at the end of the tunnel. Those three guys are three of the most talented I have seen in the last three to four years. When I look at cricketers, I look at who can make other teams around the world, and those three guys can make most other teams."

Holding was speaking from the Cayman Islands where he is currently during the global pandemic that has shut down sports across the globe.

During the West Indies tour of England in July, players took the knee in support of the global movement for equality for people of colour. However, that has since ended with subsequent tours triggering the ire of the former West Indies fast bowler.

"Now that the West Indies team has gone home, that doesn't mean that you still shouldn't be respecting the message and exactly what it stands for," Holding said.

He explained that the movement had generated global momentum and awareness. The ECB should do what it can to help maintain it.

"So for Pakistan and England not to then take that signal - because you are not doing anything other than going down on one knee - you are not chanting anything, you are not saying anything, all you are doing is making a signal to keep the awareness going.”

Meanwhile, the ECB responded to the SkySports commentator that while they respect his opinion, they have chosen to go in the direction of a more sustainable form of action.

"Many of cricket’s teams, both domestic and international, took the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement for their opening games, with the Men's Test Team continuing throughout the entire series with the West Indies,” the ECB statement said.

"Our response to the Black Lives Matter debate has been to view the issue alongside the whole inclusion and diversity space, to ensure that long-term and sustainable change happens for all communities who are not treated equally. We remain committed to this philosophy.

"Our refreshed inclusion and diversity strategy, published at the start of the West Indies Series, commits to several comprehensive initiatives that focus on eliminating discrimination from all areas of cricket.

"England's men’s and women’s players all remain committed to using their reach and influence to keep promoting inclusion and diversity in perpetuity, for the betterment of cricket and sport. We understand the importance of symbolism, and its power to keep an issue high on the agenda, our goal is to ensure we deliver both reach and change.”

However, believes that change will require more than just education.

"It is not a matter of which one is more important. Education is very important - I said that when I had my talk on Sky - but you can't just say that education is the most important thing and do nothing else. We have still got to keep the awareness going.

“I don’t care about any politics behind the Black Lives Matter – I just care about those three words. Black Lives Matter. And it’s time for the world to accept that black lives matter and move the entire world towards that agreement and that realisation because it is obvious that we need to do something in this world if we are going to get equality for all races and all nations.”

The 66-year-old former West Indies fast bowler was speaking on Mason on Guest from the Cayman Islands on Tuesday when he revealed his plans to retire from what has been a long and illustrious career providing commentary and analysis on Test cricket.

Holding began his Test-commentary career in 1991 in the Caribbean and currently works with Skysports in the United Kingdom and Supersport in South Africa. But, after 29 years in the commentary booth, Holding says the end is drawing near.

“I am not too sure how much farther than 2020 I will be going with commentary,” Holding said. “The last contract I signed with Sky was for one year, 2020 because I told them I could not commit to more than a year at a time. If this year gets totally destroyed (because of the pandemic), I might have to think about 2021 because I can’t just walk away from Sky, a company that has done so much good for me, after a complete dud of a season, but I can’t see myself going too much further down the road with this thing.

“I am 66 years old. I am no longer 36, 46 or 56.”

Nicknamed Whispering Death because of his quiet approach to the wicket and his blistering pace, Holding played 60 Tests for the West Indies between 1975 and 1987. He took 249 wickets at an average of 23.68.

The fast-bowling great, speaking on Skysports was asked his views on the #BlackLivesMatter campaign, delivered a poignant lesson on how education and religion helped brainwash the world against people of colour.

 “Education is important, unless we just want to continue living the life that we are living and continue having demonstrations every now and then and a few people saying a few things,” Holding said.

“When I say education I say going back in history. What people need to understand is that these things stem from a long time ago, hundreds of years ago. The dehumanisation of the black race is where it started. People will tell you that ‘oh it’s a long time ago, get over it’. No, you don’t get over things like that.”

He mentioned another recent incident in the United States that brought into stark focus, just how ingrained racism has become.

“That lady in central park in New York (Amy Cooper). If she did not have in her DNA the thought process that she is white and this man is black and ‘if I call a police officer, nine times out of 10 he is going to be white and I will be considered right immediately. The black guy will have to prove that he is not guilty and by the time he has to prove that he might be dead,” Holding remarked.

“She had that in her mind from day one and that is why she said and did what she did. How do you get rid of that in society? By educating both black and white.”

Highlighting that he was not much of a religious person, Holding said that religion has brainwashed much of the world against people of colour.

“As a young man I didn’t understand what brainwashing is; now I do. We have been brainwashed. Even white people have been brainwashed,” Holding said.

“I go back many years, think about religion. You and I both are Christians. Look at Jesus Christ. The image that they give of Jesus Christ, pale skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. Where Jesus came from, who in that part of the world looks that way? Again, that is brainwashing, this is to show, ‘look this is what perfection is, this is what the image of perfection is.’

“If you look at the plays of those days. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is a black man. Again brainwashing people to think, ‘oh he is a black man, he is the bad man’.”

He also spoke about how those recording history have deliberately ignored achievements by people of African heritage.

“We all know who invented the light bulb. Thomas Edison invented it. Edison invented the light bulb with a paper filament; it burnt out in no time at all. Can you tell me who invented the filament that makes these lights shine throughout? Nobody knows because he was a black man and it was not taught in schools. Lewis Howard Latimer invented the carbon filament because of which lights continuously shine, who knows that?” he asked.

 “Everything should be taught. When I go back I remember my school days, I was never taught anything good about black people. And you cannot have a society that is brought up like that, both whites and blacks, which is only taught what is convenient to the teacher.”

A member of the Sky Sports commentary panel for more than 20 years, Holding was known for his objective, no-nonsense approach to commentary that earned him admirers across the globe.

The 66-year-old Jamaican had hinted at his impending retirement in April 2020, while a guest on the Mason&Guest talk show in Barbados.

“I am not too sure how much further than 2020 I will be going with commentary. I cannot see myself going much further down the road at my age. I am 66 years old now, I am not 36, 46 or 56,” he said then.

“I told [ Sky] that I could not commit to more than a year at a time. If this year gets totally destroyed, I might have to think about 2021 because I can’t just walk away from Sky, a company that has done so much good for me.”

He also rose to greater global prominence in 2020 when during a rain delay in a Test match in England he spoke for more than four minutes about his support of the Black Lives Matter movement. His comments were made in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota at the hands of Derek Chauvin, a police officer who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.  

He subsequently wrote a book chronicling his own experiences with racism as well as those experienced by some of the world’s best-known sports stars including Usain Bolt and Naomi Osaka.

Holding played 60 Test matches for the West Indies between 1975 and 1987 taking 249 wickets of 23.68. During a career in which he came to known as ‘Whispering Death’ because of his silent run-up to the crease before unleashing deliveries of blistering pace, he famously took his Test-best figures of 14-149 at the Oval in 1976.

In 1980, he bowled what is widely regarded as the best over ever bowled in Test cricket to obdurate England opener Geoffrey Boycott. He bowled the batsman neck and crop with the final ball of the over.

There was no play on today’s third day because of persistent rain, with England having batted for the majority of the two days prior.

With the West Indies leading the series 1-0, scores in the second Test are England 469-9 declared and the West Indies 32-1.

“I have no sympathy at all. I don't understand why people can't just do what is required,' Holding said during an interview with Sky Sports.

According to the Sky Sports commentator and pundit, the sacrifices the teams have had to make to make the series a reality are relatively small and should not elicit actions such as Archer’s.

Archer, during his trip from Southampton where the first Test was played to Manchester for the second, rerouted to his house before making his way to the venue.

The pacer was forced to miss the Test as he had to self-quarantine and has since been fined by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ahead of the possibility of playing in the third Test should he test negative for COVID-19.

“Talking about sacrifices - Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in a little cell and he did nothing wrong - that is a sacrifice,” said Holding.

Holding did not have kind words for the ECB either, suggesting they hadn’t thought all the protocols for the series out well enough.

“Why aren't the England team travelling on a bus? If they have already passed the COVID test and everyone is together, they have six matches and are moving from one venue to another, why aren't they just all on a bus?” Holding questioned.

“Why are they allowed to travel by car? People need to just think a bit,” said Holding.

The former West Indies fast bowler believes that had Pooran, and a couple others, had been in the West Indies team in England this past summer, the outcome of the series might have been different.

During the #Raisethebat series in England in July, the West Indies won the first Test in Southamption only to be comprehensibly beaten in the next two matches at Old Trafford and subsequently lose the series 2-1.

Darren Bravo and Shimron Heymyer had declined invitations to participate citing safety concerns but Pooran was never considered for selection. Holding believes that had those three been there things might have been different.

“They were competitive against England without, in my opinion, three of their better batsmen. Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer chose not to come and they didn’t select Nicholas Pooran, who I think is very talented and should be playing Test cricket,” Holding said during an interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly.

“If they all played I think the series would have been a lot closer and, in fact, I have an inkling that West Indies might have won because runs on the board was their problem.”

Pooran has only played three first-class matches in which he has scored 143 runs at an average of 23.83. However, the player has excited fans in the shorter forms of the game, most recently for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL where his six-hitting and stroke making triggered debate as to whether he should take his obvious talents to the longest form of the game.  Pooran averages 25.68 in T20s and 49.05 in 25 ODI matches in which he has a top score of 118.

The ongoing debate has reached the ears of CWI Chief Selector Roger Harper.

In a recent response to questions from the media regarding Pooran’s selection to the West Indies Test squad, Harper said the player would be availed of a chance to prove himself in the longer form of the game during the upcoming tour of New Zealand set to run from November 27 to December 15.

In addition to the three T20 matches in which Pooran will be involved, and two Tests, the West Indies are down to play two first-class matches from December 3-7 and December 11-15, in Hamilton and Wellington, respectively.

Harper said the Trinidadian would be given an opportunity to play in those matches.

“There was a lot of consideration given to Nicholas Pooran; we are still looking at it and I am sure as we move forward, Pooran will have an opportunity as well,” Harper said. “He is in the T20 squad and he has expressed willingness to play in four-day games that will be available during the tour."

The thinking behind the move stems from the fact that fast bowlers often use bodily fluids like sweat and saliva to polish one side of the ball, which impacts its aerodynamics.  The method is particularly useful in aiding swing bowling.  Under Law 41, however, all other actions which alter the condition of the ball are illegal.

Players are often known to scuff the ball with a sharp object carried onto the field, fingernails, or even teeth.  With concerns raised regarding the threat posed by bodily fluids in spreading the virus, however, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has considered amending the rules to allow the use of foreign substances on the ball, with the caveat that it is done in front of the umpire.  The proposal has found favour in some circles but Holding did not agree.

“I have read that ICC is contemplating preventing people from using saliva on the ball due to Covid-19 and allowing them to use foreign substances on the ball to keep the shine on but in front of the umpire. I don't understand the logic behind that,” Holding told Espncricinfo.

“Before they got to that point they said, if they restart cricket, it has to be played in a bio-secure environment. They were saying cricketers, for instance, would have to isolate themselves for two weeks to make sure that everything was fine for when they got to the venue before the match started. And everyone involved (with the match) will have to do the same thing,” he added.

“Now if you are saying everyone is in the bio-secure environment, you are staying in the same hotel, you are not moving for the length of time you are playing the matches, if that is the case, why are you worried about someone's saliva? That person, according to what you are doing, should be free of Covid-19.”

England are currently ranked at fourth in the world, four places above the eight-ranked West Indies.  On paper, it should be a comfortable win for the home team.  But, although the Windies have not managed to get any sort of result in the UK since 1995 and have not won a series there since 1998, the regional team has put in some solid performances, including when they last visited in 2017.

On that occasion, the West Indies were obliterated in the first Test but rebounded strongly on the back of two centuries from Shai Hope to win the second.  England went on to win the third Test.  Holding believes that particular battling performance and the fact that the Caribbean team turned the tables on the Englishmen on their last visit to the region will give the team some hope heading into the series.

“West Indies lost 2-1 when they were in England the last time.  They didn’t play that badly…the second Test match will have showed them that they are able to compete in England,” Holding said on youtube podcast Mikey – Holding nothing back.

“They are about 75 percent of the guys who toured England in this same squad, so it won’t be anything new for them.  So that should give them a little bit of help mentally and of course, they have the Wisden Trophy.  They beat England in the Caribbean and that should spur them on to make sure they retain that Wisden Trophy.  That is a big thing for them,” he added.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old put in another stirring performance against one of his favourite opponents, Bangladesh.  The bowler’s 10^th five-wicket haul, on this occasion figures of 5 for 54, not only left the West Indies on the verge of winning the first Test but represented a huge personal milestone.

His latest tally sees the bowler now tied for 6^th all-time on the list of the regional team’s top wicket-takers, shoulder to shoulder with the revered Holding, and 10 behind Joel Garner for 5^th.  The significance of the moment was not lost on the player, who made his Test debut against the same opponents in 2009.

 “I’m proud.  I’m proud to know how I started, obviously, I came into the team under very difficult conditions, and to build a career and get among the greats is a good feeling,” Roach said.

“I’m one for stats, I love my stats.  I'm always checking once I'm not playing, so it’s always good to be among the greats,” he added.

With more left in the tank, the bowler has targeted the 300 wickets milestone, which would put him 9 behind spinner Lance Gibbs and fifth on the all-time list.

“I’d love 300 Test wickets.  I’m at 249, I have about two to three more years left in me, so that’s the target.”

Hetmyer, 23, seen as one of the rising stars in West Indies cricket, was among three players who opted out of the tour #RaisetheBat series, largely due to safety concerns. His Guyanese compatriot Keemo Paul and Trinidadian middle-order batsman Darren Bravo, also decided to stay home despite assurances given by both CWI and the ECB that they would be kept safe in a bio-secure environment.

Roberts, who was a member of a fearsome, four-pronged West Indies pace attack from the 1970s into the 1980s, believes the decision not to go was foolhardy.

“They would have played an integral part of the batting,” he said during a recent conversation with Michael Holding on Holding’s YouTube channel. He suggested that the tour to England was an opportunity to improve his batting.

“As much as we don’t like the way Hetmyer has been playing, he is one of the batsmen of the future. But somebody has to get into his head and let him realize that you cannot score runs sitting in the pavilion.”

Floyd’s death, at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin last year, prompted global outcry and worldwide protests.  In response to the incident, Holding gave powerful testimony about racial injustice, during Sky Cricket's coverage of England against West Indies in July 2020.

Holding won the Sports Journalists' Association (SJA) Award for Best Pundit in 2020 at the SJA Awards and Sky Sports won the Sports Network of the Year category.  The Sports Pundit award is decided by an SJA Members' vote.

The West Indian revealed the speak has simply come from thoughts that have been buried deep in his consciousness for a number of years now.

"People don't understand what it is like to go through life and always thinking that people think less of you than what you think of yourself,” Holding said at the online awards ceremony.

"It can be a little bit tiring and when I got that opportunity it just came spilling out,” he added.

He, however, holds out hope that the process that could lead to lasting change has already begun.

"If you just look at the protests on the road and look at the faces of the people that were on the road. I saw a Swedish women's football team take a knee before a game, so it is going all over the world that people are recognising that things need to be done, and it's about time it did."

For decades, the region was the producer of fearsome fast bowling talent, which often left opposition batsmen with plenty to think about.  The likes of Roberts, Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall, and Michael Holding are only a few of the names who could leave opponents with plenty to dread once they strode to the crease.

Many will point to the pace-bowling lineage being broken with the end of twin towers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, with no bowler since managing to come close to consistency matching that once fearsome legacy.

“I don’t think that these guys are prepared for the hard work that fast bowling entails,” Roberts told the Mason and Guest program.

“If you look at it, most players now prefer to play T20s, it's only four overs.  I must say that fast bowling is hard work, I would say donkey work, but I just believe they are not prepared,” he added.

In recent times, some have blamed poor preparation of the region’s pitches for suffocation of the Caribbean’s fast bowling talent, Roberts, however, does not agree.

“A lot of people blame the pitches, but I always ask, Pakistan is supposed to have some of the slowest pitches in the world, yet still they produce some of the fastest bowlers in the world.  How do they do it and we can’t,” Roberts said.

 “People believe that during the 60s, 70s, and 80s we used to have really fast pitches, that is far from the truth.  We used to have Kensington Oval, the ball used to swing around and move off the seam on the first day, but after that, it became one of the best batting pitches in the region.  It has nothing to do with pitches, it has a lot to do with the work ethics of the young cricketers, they don’t want to work hard.”

Richards represented Somerset and Glamorgan during his English domestic game and was named as the best overseas player at both counties.

The 17 county winners then went through to the overall vote.

Richards won 90 per cent of the Somerset votes and 38 per cent of the votes at Glamorgan where he spent four seasons.

 According to the BBC, Richards hit 58 centuries in his 14,698 first-class and 7,349 one-day runs for Somerset until 1986, when he and Garner were ousted as overseas signings, and Botham resigned in protest, but not before the county had won five one-day trophies from 1979 to 1983.

Meanwhile, Lloyd won the Lancashire vote with 66 per cent of the vote. The ‘Big Cat’ represented Lancashire from 1968 to 1986.

The left-handed batsman played 219 first-class games for Lancashire, hitting 30 centuries while scoring 12,764 runs. With Lancashire, he won the first two one-day league titles (1969 and 1970) as well as four Gillette Cups between 1970 and 1975.

Curtly Ambrose the top man at Northamptonshire with 47 per cent of the vote.

Between 1989 and 1996, Ambrose took 318 wickets in 78 first-class matches and 115 wickets in 95 one-day appearances for Northants while helping Northants' to the NatWest Trophy at Lord's in 1992.

West Indies opener Desmond Haynes won 52 per cent of the Middlesex vote. During his five seasons there between 1989 and 1994, the Barbadian batsman made 7,071 runs in 95 matches, at an average of 49.10 scoring 21 centuries along the way.

He also made six more hundreds in one-day cricket, scoring 4,105 runs for Middlesex in 96 matches, and helped Middlesex win three trophies; the County Championship in 1990 and 1993, plus the Sunday League in 1992.

Fast-bowling legend Malcolm Marshall took 826 first-class and 239 List A wickets in his 11 years with Hampshire spread between 1979 and 1993. He also scored 5,847 first-class runs, including five centuries and 26 fifties, and a further 2,073 in one-day cricket.

These significant contributions saw him win 47 per cent of the Hampshire vote.

Another West Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding won 51 per cent of the vote at Derbyshire where between 1983 and 1989; he took 224 first-class wickets in 66 games and claimed 154 one-day scalps.

Never one for mincing words, the man who earned the nickname the ‘Whispering Death’ for the fear he drove into opponents on the pitch, pointed to Richards domination of bowlers and ability to score runs consistently against even the most fearsome bowling line-ups, as the reason for his selection.

“Viv is the best batsman I have seen against anything and everything,” Holding told Sky Sports.

“He never looked intimidated. Richard Hadlee in New Zealand, Dennis Lillee in Australia, Abdul Qadir in Pakistan, Bishan Bedi in India. Ian Botham in England. He got runs against anybody and everybody,” he added.

“He destroyed a lot of bowlers in the Caribbean. He didn’t have to play against four West indies bowlers at once but he played against us [domestically] and he got runs against every team.”

Over his career Richards scored more than 15,000 runs in 308 matches for West Indies, finishing his international career with 35 centuries.  He averaged more than 47 in both Test and ODI cricket.

The debate, however, will always be ongoing with batsmen like India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, who also dominated bowlers, sure to be among favoured picks for other fans of the sport.

For many decades the Windies was known for producing generations of fearsome fast bowlers.  The likes of Joel Garner, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshal, and Michael Holding filled the hearts of countless opposition batsmen with fear for decades.

 A new generation of Windies bowlers, led by Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel along with youngster Alzarri Joseph has shown some promise, in recent times, but are yet to scale the heights reached by the golden generation.  Lloyd, who captained and played alongside many of the region’s top fast bowlers, has insisted the players had more than just pace.

“The thing with our fast bowlers is that they all did something different, it wasn’t just inswingers or outswingers.  They bowled different things.  So, when you came to bat against our players, you had to be at the top of your game and that’s why they were successful,” Lloyd told the Mason and Guest program.

“There was no let-up.  We didn’t just have fast bowlers; we had thinking fast bowlers.  They were not calypso cricketers,” he added.