West Indies captain Jason Holder has returned to cricketing action with a bang, as the world's top-ranked Test all-rounder created history with his incredible exhibition of bowling that destroyed England on day two of the first Test on Thursday (July 9) in Southampton.
The towering paceman Holder returned with his Test-best figures of 6/42 – his sixth five‑wicket haul in his last 10 Tests to give the Windies a perfect start, restricted the host England on just 204 in the first innings of the opening Test of the three-match Test series at the Ages Bowl.
Holder’s sublime six-wicket haul was the pacer’s best figures in an innings of Test cricket, surpassing his previous Test-best of 6/59 against Bangladesh at Kingston two years ago, as well as, best figures by a West Indian captain against England in the format.
Following his phenomenal bowling performance, the Barbados-born all-rounder said he has enjoyed his sparkling performance with the ball while revealing that he arrived on the England tour with two personal goals and one of them has now completed, but insisted his “Test is far from over”.
Holder said: “I enjoyed today’s spell; I must say. I enjoyed the surface; the conditions and I hadn’t got five on my last trip here. One of the things I have always strived to do is to score a hundred in England and get a five-wicket haul. I’ve ticked one box, now it’s time to knuckle down and get a hundred.”
The all-rounder added, “I really want to make some runs. I have done a good job so far but my Test is far from over. I have a massive contribution to make with the bat. That’s where my focus will be channeled. I don’t get caught up with it.”
Holder also revealed: “I really wanted to get on the honors board at Lord's. We were scheduled to play there but then due to COVID they shuffled it around.”
On getting the prize scalp of the rival all-rounder and stand-in England captain Ben Stokes, Holder said: “It was a big wicket to get. We put down two chances and he was looking to make us pay.”
The Windies captain signed off by saying, “His partnership with Jos was starting to blossom into something that could really hurt us. But I was getting just enough movement to keep him at bay, keep him playing, and eventually got the edge.”
(With AFP Inputs)
