BITTERSWEET
Holder holds mixed feelings after ODI milestone
HARARE, ZIMBABWE (CMC): WEST INDIES skipper Jason Holder reached a personal milestone on Thursday when he became the fifth West Indies player to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in One-Day Internationals.
The 26-year-old joined the legendary Sir Vivian Richards, Carl Hooper, Chris Gayle, and Dwayne Bravo on the list of those to achieve the feat, after claiming a three-wicket haul in the defeat to Afghanistan.
Holder described the achievement as “bittersweet”, especially with it coming during the Caribbean side’s first defeat of the ongoing ICC World Cup qualifiers in their opening match of the Super Sixes.
“I f eel pretty good with my personal form. I’m trying to lead from the front,” Holder said.
“I’ve been getting some runs and also getting some wickets. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get across the line [on Thursday], so it’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing that I’ve got a hundred wickets and a thousand runs.”
Holder has scored 201 runs and grabbed 10 wickets in the tournament in helping to put his side into the Super Sixes second stage and closer to qualification for next year’s World Cup in England.
He narrowly missed out on a hundred against Papua New Guinea when he ended unbeaten on 99 and claimed his second five-wicket haul in ODIs in the outing against United Arab Emirates.
The Barbadian, who made his ODI debut five years ago and who was installed as captain two years later, has scored 1,211 runs and claimed 101 wickets from 74 ODIs. Holder said that his main f ocus, however, was ensuring that the West Indies qualified for the World Cup and was disappointed by the defeat to Afghanistan.
“At the end of the day, our main focus is to win this tournament, and we fell short [on Thursday],” he lamented.