One of West Indes all time great fast bowler Michael Holding has said that he has never been interested in the opinions stated by Brian Lara. Responding to the criticism of his conduct during West Indies’ 1980 tour of New Zealand Holding, while speaking at the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture, he said, “I am not interested in whatever Brian Lara says. Never was, never will be.”
It may be recalled here that Lara had sparked a debate when during the MCC lecture, as he spoke about how he was “embarrassed” by the unsportsmanlike conduct of the West Indies in the 80s and 90s.
He specifically spoke about an incident related to Holding.
“I grew up at a time when West Indies dominated the world. For 15 years from 1980, the West Indies never lost a Test series. And just before that, Colin Croft decided he was going to take a piece out of Fred Goodall’s shoulder and ran into him during a Test Match. Michael Holding decided he was no longer a cricketer, he was a footballer and he kicked a stump. I’m sure the occurrences during that period had a big effect on cricket. This is maybe the most embarrassing moment for me as a young West Indian, watching a West Indies team time-wasting, playing the game in a way it should never, ever be played” Lara added.
