Former West Indies cricketer Michael Holding announces retirement from commentary

In
April
last
year
he
had
revealed
during
a
BBC
radio
talk
show
that
2021
is
going
to
be
his
last
in
front
of
the
mic,
“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.”

“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.”

Holding
played
60
Tests
and
102
ODIs
for
West
Indies
and
picked
up
391
international
wickets
before
retiring
from
international
cricket
in
1987.

Reflecting
upon
his
commentary
stint,
Holding
had
said
that
he
feels
himself
to
be
extremely
lucky
when
he
looks
back
at
his
career.

Holding
is
known
for
his
honest
commentary
and
garnered
a
lot
of
praise
for
his
monologue
on
‘Black
Lives
Matter’ when
international
cricket
resumed
with
the
England-West
Indies
Test
series
last
year
post-COVID-19
lockdown.
‘Black
Lives
Matter’
was
a
burning
issue
world
over
in
the
backdrop
of
racial
discrimination.
The
debate
over
racism
gripped
the
entire
world
in
the
aftermath
of
the
death
of
a
US
national
George
Floyd
in
police
custody.

Former
West
Indies
cricketer
Ian
Bishop
took
to
his
Twitter
handle
and
thanked
Holding
to
teaching
him
a
lot
as
a
co-commentator.
Bishop
wrote,
“From
the
very
first
day
I
met
him,
Michael
Holding
has
always
been
kind,
understanding
and
encouraging
to
me;
even
when
I
messed
up.
I
am
privileged
to
call
him
a
friend
and
mentor.
I
will
celebrate
and
be
thankful
for
the
teachings
he
brought.”