St. George’s, Grenada — Jason Holder is big, very big. He stands six feet, seven inches tall with broad shoulders and is an imposing figure.
The 20-year-old all-rounder says however, he still has a lot of “growing” to do on the cricket field and wants that growth to be demonstrated during the upcoming three-match Digicel One-day series against India-A.
Holder has been steady without being spectacular in the West Indies-A series win over the India A in the Digicel “Test” series of four-day, first-class matches.
His best return was a five-wicket haul in the second innings of the first match in Barbados. He came to life in the first Digicel T20 in Trinidad with an excellent last over en route to a three-wicket haul.
The three-match One-day series starts on Wednesday at Queen’s Park Stadium. The other matches will be on Friday and Sunday.
Looking ahead to the matches, Holder said: “I have been bowling reasonably well, but I still have areas where I could improve – the extras and ‘boundary balls’ are the main areas I need to eliminate. I am enjoying my game and I am progressing quite well.
“I just need to be clear in my thoughts and work hard on what I have to do at each stage of the game. I still need to continue doing well. . .still have to be more consistent. I had some good moments in the series, so I want to pick up and continue.”
Holder is an effective new ball bowler with his ability to get extra bounce. He also fancies himself as a good “death bowler”, a role he performed in the Twenty20 matches and will have to perform this week. He is also looking to contribute with the bat.
“I am always keen on finishing the innings bowling as it’s one of the most exciting parts of the game,” he said. “It’s a really good feeling when you bowl a good last over and I always strive to finish off close games with the ball for the team.
“I got a hundred in club cricket earlier this season and I feel really good at the crease. I have not really made a (big) score so far, so anytime I don’t get runs I know I have to go out and get wickets for the team. The ideal situation that I’m working on is runs and wickets and look to win matches.”
Because of his height, Holder gets attention, but he is not the tallest member of his family. His older brother Andre, who is on a basketball scholarship in the United States, is six feet, eight inches tall.
Jason is often compared with giant West Indies fast bowling legend Joel Garner, who took 259 wickets at an average of 20.97 runs apiece in 58 Tests and 146 wickets at 18.84 in 98 ODIs.
“I have a great deal of respect for him (Garner) and his knowledge,” said Holder. “I try to speak to him as often as I can and he always offers great advice.
“I see him as someone I can look up to, someone who has done it all and can help me along the way. I don’t try to be a carbon-copy of him. His advice is mainly to ‘work hard and be disciplined’ and do what works best.
“My ultimate ambition is to play for West Indies. That is still some way off and I know there is a lot of work to do…I need to keep growing. There are some bowlers and allrounders ahead of me. . .but I’m prepared to put in the work to reach my goals and my ambition.”
Squad: Veerasammy Permaul (captain), Adrian Barath, Nkrumah Bonner, Jonathan Carter, Shane Dowrich (wicketkeeper), Kirk Edwards, Assad Fudadin, Jason Holder, Delorn Johnson, Nikita Miller, Jason Mohammed, Nelon Pascal, Kieran Powell
DIGICEL SERIES SCHEDULE
1st Digicel Test: India A won by 2 wickets
2nd Digicel Test: West Indies won by 125 runs
3rd Digicel Test: West Indies won by 10 wickets
1st Digicel T20: West Indies won by 3 wickets
2nd Digicel T20: Tie – India A won after One-Over Eliminator
1st Digicel One-Dayer: Wednesday, June 27
2nd Digicel One-Dayer: Friday, June 29
3rd One-Dayer: Sunday, July 1
