John Holder (umpire)
The fifth of six children,[2] Holder was born on 19 March 1945 in the community of Superlative in the parish of Saint George, Barbados.
He played as a fast bowler, but was not coached to bowl; instead he taught himself by watching Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, and Roy Gilchrist.
[6] He gained further experience through Combermere's participation in the First Division of the National Men's League, playing alongside many of the leading Barbadian cricketers of the time.
[8] However, with little career prospects on the island, he answered a call by London Transport in 1964,[2] who were actively seeking to employ Barbadians to curb the post-war labour shortage which still persisted.
Holder was one of thousands of Barbadians who relocated to England and initially settled in Harrow on the Hill, courtesy of a contact in the Labour Department back in Barbados who set him up with accommodation.
Finding the accommodation substandard,[9] he moved firstly to a bedsit in Shepherd's Bush, before settling in Battersea.
[12] As word spread of Holder's bowling abilities, he was extended an invitation by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to play for their cricket team, based at Motspur Park.
[13] Former West Indian international Bertie Clarke, who played for the BBC, spoke to then Hampshire captain Roy Marshall about Holder, who invited him to Southampton for a trial.
[15] He remained in the Second XI for two seasons, gaining experience and honing his technique, at a time when Hampshire had a settled seam bowling attack consisting of Butch White, Derek Shackleton and Bob Cottam.
On Christmas Eve, he was overcome with "unbearable" and "agonising" back pain whilst getting out of bed; a specialist diagnosed him with an inflamed sacroiliac joint and was prescribed physiotherapy at the Royal South Hants Hospital.
In the New Year, his pain relented and he was able to begin walking again, though the injury had caused Holder to consider if his career was over.
[29] In one-day cricket, he made sixteen appearances in 1972,[25] taking 18 wickets at an average of exactly 24, which included his career-best figures of 3 for 18.
[33] He was often utilised by Hampshire as a fourth-change bowler, and throughout his career he was noted for his non-repetitive bowling action, which sometimes affected his consistency and accuracy.
[46] Alongside John Hampshire, he was the first neutral umpire appointed to stand in a Test match series, when Pakistan played India in late 1989.
[47] During the 3rd Test, Holder noticed that both teams were engaged in ball tampering, for which he summoned both coaches and captains.
[59] During his umpiring career, Holder is credited alongside Don Oslear with the idea of a 'bowl-out' to decide a drawn match, after the 55-over 1987 Tilcon Trophy final had been washed out by rain.
[60][61] Following his retirement, he continued to umpire in the Central Lancashire Cricket League, until he quit in 2014, citing poor player behaviour as his reason.
[63] In February 2016, he accepted an invitation to become the first president of the newly founded Pennine Cricket League.
[64] He was a regular contributor to the "Ask the Umpire" feature on BBC Radio's Test Match Special until August 2024.
[2] After retiring from cricket, Holder became active with his local Rotary International branch, serving as its president in 2016 and 2017.
[66] In 2016, he received a golden jubilee medal marking the 50th anniversary of Barbados' independence from the United Kingdom; Holder was one of fifty Barbadians recognised for making a significant difference in Anglo-Barbadian relations.
