An open letter to Michael Holding

Dear MikeyYou didnt have to play at Rose Bowl which hosted last weeks opening England v West Indies Test for the Wisden Trophy to walk away with Man of the Match honours The reward Shannon Gabriel received was called the Player of the Match So youre the manThe manner in which you called out racism was powerful profound and hopefully productive If an American was watching and listening a likeminded person would have been reminded of Martin Luther KingIf Stevie Wonder is sent a recording of your chat with Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward he may be inspired to do an encore of Visions Part 2 for his next audience Before that piece of musical brilliance executed by guitarists Kyle Bolden and Errol Cooney during his 2009 Live at Last concert in London Wonder remarked Yes we are of different colours and ethnicities Oh yeah I understand all that I call it just the making of Gods rainbow of all of us But the key ishellipwe cant let these things mdash differences in our skin or ethnicities make us a part of killing the earth destroying the planet by putting energies of hate out there If we dont pull it together soon we will see our planet die before our eyesIm sure you feel the same Mikey And you hurt like that supreme performerYour admirers and fellow commentators may have thought they would not see you battling to hold back tears again after they watched you express anguish over someone influencing young Mohammad Amir to indulge in spot fixing and bowling that huge conspired noball in the Lords Test of 2010 But they did last week when a studio host spoke to you on why you chose to speak out the day beforeYou said you thought about your parents and what they endured because your mother married a man who was too dark Mikey you caused lumps in many throats if not tears many miles away as well When you broke down I thought about what my late mother told me many years ago In the first few weeks of work two fellow employees passed her with one saying to the other What dark girls Glaxo is employing nowadays My mother was surprised and stung She didnt think too much about it and it was only casually mentioned at home She served the British firm for 40 yearsThe examples you threw up about the kind of racism you faced in Australia England and South Africa moved us all I felt I was with you waiting for a cab at Leicester Square in the lift in Australia and at that South African hotel reception waiting to be checked in And I wanted to come over and shake your handIn the midst of all this I couldnt help thinking about the good straight man you have been without making a fuss about it allIve observed you a bit When I told you that I needed an inscription on your book No Holding Back at Lords in 2011 you indicated it would be done with pleasure When it slipped my mind to get the book along to the press box you reminded me that I wanted it signedThirteen years earlier at the Dhaka airport lounge you granted an interview to a young journalist only on his second international tour despite having arrived on an early morning flight from Karachi as we both waited to leave the airport in the midst of a strikeOn my 2007 tour of England on a cold rainy day of the Lords Test fellow journalist Siddhartha Vaidyanathan and I met two gentlemen enjoying their beer at the Nursery End Andrew Turner and Glenn Griffiths had furnished your UK home and you gave them tickets for the Lords Test with a warning that it could be a rainy day They were also promised tickets for the next Test at Nottingham in lieu of the poor London weather during the TestTurner told us how you had left a voice message about a screwdriver forgotten in one of your roomsI remember what David Gower once said Michael Holding could be the nicest man on earth and is very close to being so Thankfully being nice doesnt stop you from being forthright In Whispering Death you stated that captain Clive Lloyd and manager Edmond Kentish were far too soft on players who challenged their authority on the disastrous 197576 tour of Australia In the same book you felt Lloyd could have handled your mate Andy Roberts better Andy as you said asked to be left out of the opening Test at Kanpur in 1983 and when he was fit for the second Test he was considered only for the fifth and sixth Tests I do not believe players should be petted and pampered But too many times have I seen our top players hurt and degraded as they hear they have been omitted My friend Andy Roberts was one you wroteMikey it would take more than just words to end racism but it could be curbed in some spheres after what you said in Southampton Your disposition should never be underestimated A former colleague mdash Ajay Jha mdash told me the other day how you accepted his offer of a late evening bike ride to a taxi stand in Delhi to enable you to get a cab that would take you to your hotel after you were stranded at the National Stadium in 1994 You were ever grateful for the lift Likewise we are grateful and honoured to sit behind you while you lead the way with your stinging condemnation of racismYours truly Claytonmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news