Holder signs up with Worcestershire for first 5 matches of County Championship

West Indies fastbowling allrounder Jason Holder has signed up with Worcestershire for the first five matches of the upcoming County Championship season Holder a former No1 allrounder in the ICC Test rankings will be available from Worcestershirersquos opening County Championship fixture against Warwickshire at Edgbaston beginning on April 5Holder 32 is a recipient of the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2021 and is also available for the home fixtures with Durham and Somerset at Kidderminster and the away games with Nottinghamshire and KentHe is the latest in a group of distinguished West Indian cricketers to play for Worcestershire including Vanburn Holder Chris Gayle Andre Russell Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach Holder has produced many memorable performances including a double century in 2019 against England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados ldquoI always enjoy my time in England and Irsquom looking forward to helping Worcestershire get off to a good start to life in Division One of the County Championship I know Worcestershire have had strong links with the West Indies in terms of players playing for them over many years and I hope I can make my mark over the five gamesrdquoAlso Read IPL 2024 Quintons fifty Pooran and Krunals late heroics help LSG post 199ldquoWhen you get promoted if you can make a decent start it gives you that confidence and belief to build upon for the rest of the season You speak to people on the circuit and they said Worcestershire have a tightknit but friendly dressing room and Irsquom looking forward to playing my part on and off the fieldrdquo said Holder in a statementThe allrounder has captained his country in more than 100 internationals across all formats and became only the second West Indian player after the great Sir Garfield Sobers to score 2500 runs and take 150 wickets in Test cricket He didnrsquot play West Indiesrsquo Tests against Australia earlier this year as he was playing ILT20 in the UAE after turning down a central contract West Indies are scheduled to be in England for three Tests in July shortly after playing Menrsquos T20 World Cup at home from June 129Holder has also made his mark in whiteball cricket to great effect becoming the fastest player in ODIs to take 100 wickets and score 1000 runs for the West Indies His only previous stint in County Cricket was with Northamptonshire in 2019 when he played two Championship and five OneDay Cup gamesHolder will become Worcestershirersquos second overseas player available to play County Championship cricket after New Zealand bowler Nathan Smith who finished as the leading wickettaker in the Plunket Shield ldquoIrsquom absolutely delighted When someone of Jasonrsquos experience and quality becomes available even for a short window we just have to jump at it We know on the field as a cricketer he is a worldclass allrounder but off the field a worldclass individual as wellrdquoldquoWe are also aware that starting the season well is going to be important for us and having him in our lineup can only help that Just having someone of his quality when you take to the field gives you a big liftrdquoldquoYou are back in Division One you know itrsquos going to be tough and you can only be better if yoursquove got Jason Holder in that lineup He has a big presencerdquo said Worcestershire CEO Ashley GilesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever