Chemar’s changes

Barbadian fast bowler Chemar Holder has credited the work done on his maiden West Indies tour of England earlier this year, with his marked development and eventual debut for the Test side against New Zealand earlier this month.

The 22-year-old made his debut in the second Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, replacing fellow Barbadian and Windies seam attack spearhead, Kemar Roach, who was forced to return home following the death of his father.

Holder, who was selected in the Test squad for the three-Test series in England last July following an outstanding first class season, said the changes he made while working with bowling coaching Roddy Estwick on that tour had greatly enhanced his skillset.

“A few of the things that I worked on would’ve been bowling a fuller length because the ball tends to bounce a lot more in England and also New Zealand, so you you have to bowl a fuller length,” said Holder, who failed to break into the final XI for any of the Tests on that tour.

“[I also worked on] attacking the stumps more, utilising the new ball, making the batsman play a lot and using the crease also, so a lot of work was done with the bowling coach.”

He continued: “A lot of preparation was done in England … a lot of information was given from the senior guys. Although I didn’t play, I still learned a lot from watching … and it helped me [going] into my first Test match.”

Holder said he had learned quickly how to make the relevant adjustments to his bowling, depending on the type of pitch and the changes in the pitch as the game wore on.

“Bowling the ball in the right area means you have to first assess the pitch – all pitches don’t play alike and also as the days go, the pitch would change,” he explained.

“Early up it might have in a bit of moisture; it might have a little tennis bounce so you can afford to go a bit fuller and then later in the back end of the game, it might flatten out where the ball is just going straight on to the bat so you have to adjust your length.”

Holder’s debut came in a losing cause, however, as West Indies slumped to an innings and 12-run defeat before lunch on the penultimate day.

The loss came against the backdrop of another heavy defeat in the opening Test at Hamilton when West Indies went down by an innings and 134 runs – also before lunch on the fourth day.

Holder was impressive on debut, finishing with two for 110 as New Zealand, sent in on a grassy pitch, piled up 460 all out in their first innings.

His first wicket was that of stand-in captain Tom Latham for 27, caught at the wicket by another debutant Joshua Da Silva. His second came when he hit all-rounder Daryl Mitchell in front for 42 and gained an lbw verdict.

Holder said making his international debut had been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, especially having come through the youth system.

“Joining the guys that I’ve played with for Barbados [was special) and also my family was very happy because we talked about it more than once when I was coming through the various levels – the Barbados Under-17, that is where I first started out,” Holder said.

“Then I came through the ranks and I finally made it to where I wanted to be so it was a good experience for me.”

He added: “It was a good experience. [There were] different conditions, a different ball altogether – it was the Kookaburra ball we used this time, not the Duke ball. There wasn’t much movement. [There was] a lot of grass on the pitches – I’m not accustomed seeing so much grass on a pitch – but it was a very good experience.”

Holder grabbed 36 wickets during the first class season earlier this year to be the region’s leading fast bowler and currently has 81 career wickets from 21 games at an average of 25.