 West Indies' Jason Holder reacts after hitting a four to win the second Twenty20 against Pakistan, on August 2, 2025, in Lauderhill, Fla. - AP PhotoRoneil Walcott , 11 August 2025, On a night when he surpassed former West Indies superstar Dwayne Bravo as the regional team’s leading wicket-taker in the Twenty/20 format, the team’s former skipper Jason Holder said his job in West Indies colours is far from finished. With the ball, the lanky Holder had magical figures of four for 19 to help restrict Pakistan to 133 for nine in the second match of the three-match T20 series at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, on August 2. In the process, the 33-year-old Holder got to 81 T20 wickets in 74 matches for the Windies – bypassing Bravo, who claimed 78 wickets in 91 matches. With the bat, Holder then played a timely cameo of 16 not out off ten balls and also struck the winning boundary off the last ball of the match as West Indies got a two-wicket win to snap a six-game losing streak in the format. Holder, whose stint as West Indies captain spanned from 2014-2021, was delighted to play a part in ending the team’s losing run and vowed to do much more for the Men in Maroon. “I love playing for West Indies, to be honest. One of my things is to leave West Indies cricket better than I came and found it. “I still think there’s a lot of work to be done,” Holder said, after receiving his Man of the Match award for his allround feat in the second T20. With the Windies ranked eighth in Tests, tenth in ODIs and sixth in T20s where they have won just three of their last 20 completed matches, Holder said the Caribbean team has not been living up to expectations. “We haven’t done justice to our potential over the last couple of weeks and maybe the last couple of years. We’ve had a fair bit of criticism which at times is warranted, but we know within that we could be a lot better,” he said. Prior to the nervy win in the second T20 against the Pakistanis, the Windies were hammered 5-0 by Australia in the preceding T20 series before losing to Pakistan by 14 runs in the first game in this ongoing series. Before that, the Windies were beaten 3-0 by Australia in a Test series on home soil and were embarrassingly bowled out for 27 in the third and final Test at Sabina Park in Kingston last month. It was the second-lowest score in Test history and saw all-format coach Daren Sammy and his team facing quite the backlash in the region. Holder was not a member of the Test team for the recent series and has not played in the format since last August. However, he admitted the team must do better in all facets. “We’ve just got to put it together more often than not. I think consistency has definitely plagued us, but we’ve seen over the years that we can do it. We need to have that burning desire to make a change and make a difference. “I will keep putting in my best effort when I get a chance with the West Indies.” The third and final T20 versus Pakistan was scheduled to bowl off after press time on August 3.The teams will then play a three-match ODI series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad from August 8-12. Ex-captain Jason Holder: I want to leave West Indies cricket in a better place - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday |
