Photo Credit: Cricket West Indies
The West Indies senior men’s cricket team recently received Michael Holding’s acclaimed book – Why We Kneel, How We Rise. Players received the book during the recent Bangladesh series from Cricket West Indies (CWI) Vice President Dr. Kishore Shallow. This initiative by Dr. Shallow was previously done when he presented the book to the Windward Islands Senior Men and Women in April, in his capacity as President of the Windward Islands Cricket Board (WICB)
The book was originally published in June, 2021, following a powerful emotional interview with SkySports during the West Indies Test tour of England in 2020. Then, Holding shared his life and playing experiences with racism. Other notable personalities who shared their perspectives in the book, include Usain Bolt, Thierry Henry, Naomi Osaka, Michael Johnson, Makhaya Ntini and more.
“I’m extremely pleased and feel honored that Cricket West Indies Vice President Dr. Kishore Shallow, has decided to give every member of the West Indies cricket team or should I say teams because it’s both men and women that are receiving a copy of my book,” said Holding. “I’m hoping that all the recipients do sit down, read the book, try and understand everything that’s there. Because I think it’s an educational tool. A lot of us have gone through our lives just coasting along not understanding our history and when I say our history, I mean people of the Caribbean, and of course, people of color around the world. I think this book will open up your eyes, and hopefully, people will come to grips with what the book is trying to do, which is to educate and to make the entire world a better place.”
Explaining the thought process behind this initiative, Dr. Shallow said:
“This is a sensational book. It is intriguing, with messages perfectly delivered through the lens of one of our cricket icons, Michael Holding. I sincerely believe that West Indian cricketers and, by extension, Caribbean people would have an even greater appreciation of our heritage and legacy by absorbing the content of this text. For this reason, and to support our icon, I decided to undertake this initiative.”
The book which was published by Simon & Schuster and is available on Amazon has already gained global recognition with awards such as the British 2021 William Hill Sport and Sunday Times Book.
About Michael Holding: One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time Holding ended his illustrious international career with 249 wickets in 60 Tests and 142 wickets in 102 ODIs. He was member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Cricket World Cup at Lords in 1979. After playing, he became a prominent global cricket analyst for over three decades before his retirement in September 2021.
