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Michael Holding

West Indies·Bowler

Whispering Death — one of cricket's greatest fast bowlers who kicked the stumps in frustration during a Test in New Zealand in 1980.

18 incidents documented

Controversies & Incidents

🚨Explosive

Sandpapergate: Ball Tampering in Cape Town

Australia vs South Africa

24 March 2018

Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the third Test at Cape Town, in a plan hatched by David Warner and known to captain Steve Smith, leading to unprecedented bans.

#sandpapergate#steve smith#david warner
🏏Serious

AB de Villiers Run Out — South Africa's World Cup 2015 Heartbreak

South Africa vs New Zealand

24 March 2015

AB de Villiers was given out run out by the third umpire on a genuinely inconclusive decision. South Africa lost in heartbreaking fashion — Dale Steyn conceding the winning six to Grant Elliott off the final ball.

#ab de villiers#run out#wc 2015
🥊Moderate

Wahab Riaz's Fiery Spell to Shane Watson — 2015 World Cup

Pakistan vs Australia

20 March 2015

Wahab Riaz bowled a fearsome spell of fast bowling to Shane Watson in the World Cup quarter-final, hitting him multiple times and sledging aggressively.

#wahab riaz#watson#world cup
🚨Mild

Faf du Plessis Zipper Ball Tampering

South Africa vs Pakistan

15 October 2013

Faf du Plessis was caught on camera rubbing the ball against the zipper of his trouser pocket during a Test against Pakistan, constituting ball tampering.

#faf du plessis#ball tampering#zipper
😂Moderate

Shahid Afridi Bites the Cricket Ball on Camera

Australia vs Pakistan

2010-02-01

Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the cricket ball in an apparent ball-tampering attempt, leading to a ban and worldwide ridicule.

#shahid-afridi#ball-tampering#biting
😂Mild

Murali's 800th Wicket — Last Ball of His Last Match Drama

Sri Lanka vs India

2010-07-22

Murali needed one wicket to reach 800 in his final Test but kept being denied, creating incredible tension before Pragyan Ojha finally became his 800th victim with the last ball.

#muttiah-muralitharan#800-wickets#retirement
🥊Explosive

Harbhajan Singh Slaps Sreesanth — IPL 2008

Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab

25 April 2008

Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match, leaving Sreesanth in tears on the field. Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the IPL season.

#harbhajan#sreesanth#slap
🏏Explosive

Kasprowicz Glove Catch — Ashes 2005 Edgbaston

England vs Australia

4-7 August 2005

Michael Kasprowicz was given out caught behind in one of the closest Ashes matches ever, but replays suggested his glove was off the bat handle when the ball hit it.

#ashes#edgbaston#kasprowicz
🚨Explosive

Saleem Malik Banned for Life

Pakistan vs Various

23 May 2000

Pakistani batsman Saleem Malik became the first international cricketer to be banned for life for match fixing, after Justice Qayyum's inquiry found him guilty of offering bribes to Australian players.

#saleem malik#pakistan#life ban
🥊Serious

Michael Holding Decimates Ian Botham — 1984 West Indies

England vs West Indies

1984-06-14

Michael Holding's specific assault on Ian Botham during West Indies' famous 'Blackwash' series in 1984 — where England lost all five Tests — showed how Botham's attacking instincts, normally devastating, became a liability against sustained express pace.

#michael-holding#ian-botham#1984
Serious

The Blackwash — West Indies 5-0 England, 1984

England vs West Indies

1984-08-14

West Indies whitewashed England 5-0 in the 1984 series — the first time England had ever been beaten 5-0 in a home series — through the most dominant fast bowling combination ever assembled: Marshall, Holding, Garner, and Baptiste.

#west-indies#blackwash#1984
🥊Serious

Michael Holding Demolishes Geoff Boycott at Bridgetown

West Indies vs England

1981-03-13

Michael Holding's five-ball over at Bridgetown in 1981 — three deliveries hitting the stumps or missing fractionally, then a perfect yorker — became the most celebrated over in Test history, reducing master technician Geoff Boycott to helplessness.

#holding#boycott#1981
🥊Serious

Michael Holding Kicks the Stumps Down

New Zealand vs West Indies

12 February 1980

Michael Holding kicked the stumps out of the ground in frustration after an LBW appeal was turned down against John Parker.

#michael holding#stumps#frustration
🔥Explosive

Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket Revolution

Multiple (WSC vs Establishment Cricket)

24 November 1977

Media mogul Kerry Packer signed 51 of the world's best cricketers to a rival competition after being denied TV broadcast rights, fundamentally transforming professional cricket.

#kerry packer#world series cricket#wsc
🥊Serious

Tony Greig's 'Grovel' Comment — West Indies Fury 1976

England vs West Indies

3 June 1976

Tony Greig infamously said he intended to make the West Indies 'grovel,' a comment with racial undertones that provoked an incredible West Indian response.

#greig#grovel#west indies
🥊Serious

Andy Roberts Targets Tony Greig — 1976 West Indies in England

England vs West Indies

1976-06-03

Andy Roberts's ferocious response to Tony Greig's 'grovel' statement — combined with Viv Richards's batting dominance — turned the 1976 England-West Indies series into an emphatic West Indian statement about the cost of underestimating them.

#andy-roberts#tony-greig#1976
Serious

Michael Holding's Over to Brian Close — The Most Brutal Over in Cricket

England vs West Indies

1976-07-22

45-year-old Brian Close, recalled to face West Indies' pace onslaught, took blow after blow from Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, and Wayne Daniel at Old Trafford without complaint — walking toward the ball, refusing to take evasive action, in one of cricket's most extreme acts of physical courage.

#michael-holding#brian-close#1976
Serious

West Indies' 1976 Summer — The Most Feared Fast Bowling Lineup in History

West Indies vs England

1976-08-12

West Indies' 1976 tour of England introduced the most feared fast bowling quartet in cricket history — Holding, Roberts, Daniel, and Holder — as they beat England 3-0 in a series defined by pace, aggression, and the emergence of Viv Richards as the world's best batsman.

#west-indies#1976#michael-holding