Can you tell us how you started as commentator?
I’ve been a commentator ever since I retired but not always on television as I started on radio in the Caribbean first of all for three years, then I did both for quite a while. I wasn’t very keen on doing commentary initially but once I got into it I enjoyed it more and more and of course you learn as time goes on and you become more comfortable in the job. I’ve really enjoyed doing it as it has kept me involved in the game.

Did you always want to be a commentator?
No, my first thought was to be an umpire and I had intended on doing the umpire’s exams in the Caribbean but of course I soon drifted into commentary instead.

Was it awkward commentating at first when a lot of your old team-mates were still playing? Did you feel you had to temper your criticism?
Not at all; those who hear me on the television will know that I feel free to criticise when I think it’s necessary. I have criticised some of my best friends in the West Indies team, like Courtney Walsh once in Jamaica for something he did and we were the best of friends. I have known Courtney for many years, we are members of the same club in Jamaica (Melbourne), but my job is to be as objective as I possibly can be whenever I am on television or radio, irrespective of whoever the person is.

Did the players accept your new role ok in those days?
At first some of them didn’t appreciate some of the things that I was saying but I think they became accustomed to it and understood what my job was and that I have to do what I do. Sometimes players will approach me about what I have said so that I can discuss it with them and help, so it is obvious that most of them don’t take what I say personally.

Has anything you have said ever affected a friendship?
It’s just me doing my job. If it affects my relationship with that person, whoever that person is, well that’s tough as I have to do my job. I cannot afford to compromise my position as someone who is going into people’s living rooms. They don’t want me saying one thing one day and another thing on another day.

Out of interest, two players you have criticised heavier than most are West Indies stars Carl Hooper and Brian Lara. How is your relationship with those two now?
I have hardly seen Hooper, apart from when I bumped into him during a charity game for David Hookes in Australia. Hooper doesn’t spend any time in the Caribbean so I don’t run across him, but I do run into Lara on a more regular basis. We still talk, though I wouldn’t say we are bosom buddies. But we will still talk about cricketing matters and about West Indies cricket.

You played in arguably the greatest team there ever was with the West Indies in the 1970’s and 80’s. Do you still keep in touch with those guys?
I see a lot of those guys, I have their telephone numbers and when there is a series in the Caribbean that I am working on we will see each other on the various islands. We keep in touch with each other as much as we possibly can. I’m very close with some more than others – Andy Roberts is still my best friend and we talk to each other on the phone on a regular basis.

Team spirit was a big part of that success you had; what do you attribute to that apart from obviously winning itself?
We used to room together and nowadays the guys don’t do that, they have rooms to themselves. But in my time we had room-mates and we usually found that the bowlers roomed together and the batsmen roomed with other batsmen and that helped to build partnerships even better. These guys now say that they have fun but I don’t think they have as much fun as we used to have in our time just because they are not rooming together and because of the amount of cricket they are playing. When they go on tours they don’t get to see the country that they tour. They just play international cricket and then go home. In our day we had the opportunities to meet the people, see the culture and see the country. I think players miss out now because of that but I don’t think they feel that way. For players nowadays it’s just business; a matter of getting on the field, playing cricket and getting paid. I don’t think we took it so much as a business, of course you make a living from it, but it was also something to be enjoyed.

Do you enjoy your role on the ICC sub-committee that deals with suspect bowling actions?
Yes, I enjoy anything to do with cricket. Whatever people think I can do to help the game I’m usually happy to oblige. Those meetings, where there are about ten members, are all about discussing things and coming to a consensus. We are people that have played the game and have some experience and it’s a good way to discuss various concepts and see how we can find the best way to deal with different things.     are you happy with the current status quo on bowling actions)

Are you happy with the way that subject has been dealt with by the ICC?                                                                                                           I am happy with the law but I am not happy with the way it’s been implemented. It’s not a case of having a go at anyone, I understand the law had to have some parameters for the straightening of the arm because it has been proven by high technology that almost every bowler straightens his arm to some degree, but I’m not too sure the law has been implemented as rigidly as it could be. I think umpires are a little bit wary about getting too strict with it.

Do you believe umpires are frightened of the controversies that might crop up?
I would think so. Although the law is there it is not a tight situation. When you are sending someone to a laboratory to be tested, it’s a lot different to being out in the middle and what they are doing out there. So the law is there but at the same time it can’t be 100 percent foolproof.

Changing the subject, where did your other passion in life begin?
I love horse racing and have loved it for many years. I have been involved now with horses for about 40 years. I used to own and breed horses in Jamaica but because of the amount of travelling I am doing now I don’t do that any more. But I am a member of a syndicate in a horse with Walter Swinburn down in Tring. I love the sport and stay in Newmarket when I am in England. Whenever I am not working I am down on the heath as I just love being around horses.

So racing is your true passion in life?
Cricket is a job but a job I enjoy nonetheless. Racing is my passion, I love it.

Have you ever ridden yourself?                                                              No, I wouldn’t go on the back of a racehorse. They are a little bit too strong and powerful for me. They cost so much money also that I wouldn’t want one of them to be running away with me and for the owner to say who is that fool on my horse.

You must have been impressed with the West Indies recently, following the 4-1 win over India in the one-day series?
What I have been impressed with is the fielding. I think you can always tell the effort a team is putting in when you watch them in the field. Effort in the field transfers to other areas of the game.

And Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle seem to be playing to their potential more nowadays?
I’m happy about Sarwan in particular. He started playing first-class cricket from the age of 15 or 16. People say he is young now but he has had ten years of first-class cricket and about six years of international cricket so it’s time for him to get consistent now with his run-scoring. He has a lot of ability, no one can doubt Sarwan’s ability, but I am happy to see now that he is being more consistent. He’s been underachieving for too long. I think Chris Gayle is going to be pretty much hit and miss. I don’t expect him to get runs consistently because he hasn’t got the best technique in the world and therefore he will always have times when he will struggle, but you can’t pick too many flaws in Sarwan’s technique. He has ability and technique so he should be getting runs a lot more frequently.

But Gayle’s bowling is a big part of his game also isn’t it?
Gayle is a top cricketer. He’s excellent in the field, he bowls well and thinks about his game and changes the pace of his delivery quite easily because he is a strong man. But as I said with the bat he will struggle now and again because his technique is not perfect.

As a former fast bowling great, what is your opinion of Fidel Edwards’ progress? He seems to be bowling with pace and being more accurate nowadays.
He has improved over the last 12 months or so because he is getting stronger and fitter. His captains, he’s had a few, have now learned how to use him. You shouldn’t bowl him in long spells. When he first started, in one series in the West Indies he bowled throughout a whole session once, which is absolute rubbish. He came straight out of the nets, played two first-class games and into a Test match and bowled for an entire session, that’s why he couldn’t last and broke down on a regular basis. Now they have learned to how to deal with young fast bowlers and that’s why they are getting more out of him. He’s got good pace; he hasn’t got the perfect action and is a bit of a slinger but you have to use what the person in front of you has and capitalise on their strengths to get the best out of them.

Finally, what chance is there of West Indies winning the World Cup?
Any team can win a one-day game. Bangladesh beat Australia at Sophia Gardens so anything can happen and I don’t pay too much attention to form there. I’m sure the West Indies as a nation will host a great World Cup where everyone will enjoy themselves and will want to go back even without cricket being there. As for the West Indies winning the World Cup, why not, anything can happen.

Michael Holding was speaking to Richard Sydenham