It was not until the 1978–79 season, aged 32, that the New South Wales selectors called up Holland to continue the state’s long tradition of leg spin bowling.
He quickly formed an integral part of the bowling attack that made the state the dominant domestic team in the Sheffield Shield in the 1980s.
Forming a spin-oriented attack with Murray Bennett (left-arm orthodox) and Greg Matthews (off spin), Holland was part of the team that won the Sheffield Shield in 1982–83, 1984–85 and 1985–86.
[3][4] It was the only first-class game he played that summer, the selectors preferring David Hourn and Graeme Beard as the NSW spinners.
This included a tour match victory over the West Indies, after which both Holland and Bennett were selected for the Fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The West Indies were reduced to be all out for 163, with Holland taking 6/54 including Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Larry Gomes and captain Clive Lloyd.
Forced to follow on, they fell for 253 in the second innings with Holland taking 4/90 to complete a ten wicket match haul.
[2] Following his spin success at the SCG, he was selected to make his ODI debut on the same ground against the same team in the subsequent triangular tournament.
He took 5/68 in the second innings, breaking a stubborn century partnership between Mike Gatting and Ian Botham to take the last four wickets and ensure Australia had a small target to chase, which they did successfully.
He failed to trouble the spin-proficient Indians, taking 1/113 as they amassed 600 and pushed for an innings victory when time ran out.
Cricket writer Phil Wilkins said that "ignoring Holland for India seemed indecent with its excessively demanding conditions and the siege mentality which so often applies to the game with its consuming hours of waiting and watching and working.
His bowling was marked by use of flight, a disciplined length and a variety of leg breaks, topspinners, and a googly that was used relatively sparsely.
He made five successive Test ducks—dubbed an "Olympic" due to the five naughts looking like the Olympic rings, an unfortunate Test record he jointly holds with Ajit Agarkar and Mohammad Asif[23]—in a career yielding 35 runs at an average of 3.18, but his defiantly resistance effort in the 1984–85 Shield final helped ensure a New South Wales triumph.
Holland was a civil engineering surveyor, and was married to Carolyn, with three adult children named Craig, Rohan and Naomi.
The club enjoys encouraging and sponsoring promising foreign and domestic cricketers to play with them during the upcoming seasons.
[25] In an international cricketing era where there were many instances of abrasive on-field behaviour, Holland was especially known and regarded for his sense of gentlemanly conduct and commitment.
Holland had asked a man and a woman to stop riding motorcycles on the cricket ground where he volunteered as a curator.
A number of former teammates including Greg Matthews, Trevor Chappell, Wayne Phillips and Murray Bennett were in attendance.