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.
[breakout id=”0″][/breakout]
This came even as the hosts wrapped up the second Test inside three days to register a 10-wicket victory, after having won the first Test by 381 runs.
“With four fast bowlers West Indies are always challenged to maintain the required rate and the captain, in ICC regulations, is held responsible,” Atherton wrote in his column for The Times.
West Indies captain Jason Holder has been suspended from the third #WIvENG Test due to a slow over rate in his side's victory in Antigua.https://t.co/3xzdH74Xwv
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 3, 2019
“It is a problematic issue because clearly the authorities want to try to speed up play to offer spectators full value for money. Ask any spectator in St Lucia, though, and I imagine they would want to see Holder leading out his team.
“Nor would they have wanted to see Holder rush through some overs in Antigua, instead of bowling Shannon Gabriel or Kemar Roach, say, at the critical time in the match.”
[breakout id=”1″][/breakout]
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.
"I can’t bat for 11 guys, neither can Trevor or Ramps. The responsibility is down to the individual."https://t.co/uVxB1PK5WE
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 3, 2019
“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.”
