Jason Holder on West Indies’ survival as former captain talks about the increased frequency of all-format series against England.
Jason Holder, West Indies’ former captain, says that England’s third white-ball tour of the Caribbean in as many years is a “massive boost to their survival.
In order to “keep the lights on” during weeks of lockdown in biosecure environments during the peak of the Covid outbreak in July 2020, Holder, 32, led the West Indies team that played three Test matches behind closed doors in Manchester and Southampton.
The ECB’s losses during the epidemic, which may have reached £380 million if their full summer schedule had been cancelled, were lessened thanks to the tour. As part of the board’s £1.1 billion rights contract with Sky Sports, each of those three Test matches had a value of about £20 million.
At the conclusion of that tour, Holder had issued a warning, saying that the ECB would have to return the favour by supporting cricket’s “smaller countries” that lacked the financial resources to hold matches during a worldwide lockdown. After four years, he thinks England has been keeping their end of the agreement.
“I think it’s a fair way of putting it,” Holder told ESPNcricinfo, ahead of an eight-match tour that will be shown on TNT Sports in the UK. “We’ve obviously had the English coming over for the last three years consecutively. And that has definitely boosted, not only our economy within the Caribbean, but it adds a massive boost to our survival in international cricket.
“We rely heavily on series between England and India, our revenues tend to come from those two teams. It’s our biggest series within any calendar year. And, yeah, it’s one that really brings the fans down to the Caribbean and creates a really fun atmosphere.
“So, it’s great to have them and to see the fans packing the stadiums as well. There’s always a good banter between the West Indian public and English public. So we’re thankful that we’ve been able to have them so many times in as many years. And long may it continue.”
The Caribbean has proven to be a very difficult destination for England teams in recent years. That is notwithstanding the financial differences between the two boards. The white-ball teams have lost all three of their recent series. 2-1 in their most recent ODI campaign in December of last year, 3-2 in the T20Is in 2022 and 2023. And the renowned Test team hasn’t won a series in the area since 2004.
“I’m looking forward to the contest,” Holder said. “Both teams are in a transitionary phase, so it’s going to be keenly contested. England have obviously got a point to prove, and they’ll be trying a few different combinations to see what works. And likewise, with West Indies, we’ve got a lot of youngsters within our cohort. And it is important for them to just gain experience, gain confidence and gain knowledge. I think these series will go a long way to developing our base at a rapid rate.”