Mike Atherton has called the one-match suspension imposed on West Indies captain Jason Holder “ridiculous”, saying it poured “a bucket of cold water” over the resurgent team.

Holder will miss the third and final Test of the series, which the West Indies have already won 2-0, in St. Lucia because his team was slow in completing its overs during the second Test in Antigua.

Holder has been in prime form with both bat and ball since the start of 2018 and was named in the ICC’s Test Team of the Year. In this series, the West Indies captain averages 114.50 with the bat and 17.86 with the ball with a double century and six wickets to his name.

This isn’t the first time that Holder has missed a Test due to his team’s slow over rate. He had also missed a Test in New Zealand in 2017 for a similar offence.

“The bottom line is that England were not good enough to take the game into the fourth day and there were two days remaining in the match unused, which makes an over-rate ban seem ridiculous,” Atherton wrote.

“Kraigg Brathwaite will captain instead, and West Indies must find a way to rebalance their team. ICC officialdom may want to tread warily in St Lucia.”