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J. K. Holt, snr 1885 - 1968 J K Holt senior died on August 5, 1968. 'J. K. Holt was indeed the Colossus — the complete cricketer of utter and immaculate integrity from whom no mean action proceeded . . .' Julian Smedmore, 1968 |
"the Old Master"
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'The impact of J. K. Holt, "The Old Master", on Jamaica's cricket as it stands today is immeasurable, because he was the first of the natural, coloured greats to pierce the white barrier of the British Military, the plantocracy and banking ranks.'
Jack Anderson, 1968
Jack Anderson, 1968
early years
The name Holt first made its appearance in the Lucas score-board when Jamaica's first "big batsman", as he was known in his early years, made an appearance at the age of 17.
Freddie Smith, Daily Gleaner, August 6, 1968
Freddie Smith, Daily Gleaner, August 6, 1968
J K Holt was born in Kingston (or perhaps Trelawny) in January of 1885. There seems some disagreement about his name; it is generally assumed that he was 'John Kenneth', like his famous son, but in 1928, in an article in the Jamaica Critic, 'N.N.N.' (presumably N N 'Crab' Nethersole) called him 'James Kenneth'. After his death the great sports writer, 'Strebor' Roberts referred to him as 'Joseph Kenneth'. So perhaps the famous initials alone should be sufficient.
However, the clincher may lie in these lines from Anderson's tribute in 1968:
'But never again we will hear the stentorian voice of his admirer and friend, Reggie Matcham, shouting "Shot, oh, John Kenneth". Unless it will be on the Elysian fields.'
However, the clincher may lie in these lines from Anderson's tribute in 1968:
'But never again we will hear the stentorian voice of his admirer and friend, Reggie Matcham, shouting "Shot, oh, John Kenneth". Unless it will be on the Elysian fields.'
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In 1893 young Holt was sent to the Calabar Model School where the highly respected and much beloved T. B. Stephenson was the headmaster. Stephenson, besides being an out-standing teacher, was a great cricket enthusiast; other prominent cricketers of the early 20th century who passed through the school were S C Snow, Sam Uter and George Sayles, all three of whom later, like Holt, captained Lucas C.C.
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Like thousands of Jamaican boys, then and since, Holt first learned his cricket from the games he took part in at school, and from playing with friends on sidewalks and in open lands in his free time.
In his development as a cricketer Holt owed something to each of three men - David Ellington, W. E. Wilson and J. W. A. Van Cuylenberg.
In the summer of 1905 Holt played in a trial match to play against the visiting Trinidad team; he scored his first century in fine style!
Daily Gleaner, July 31, 1905
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Daily Gleaner, April 18, 1910
Lucas Meet Kingston C. C. Lucas started with Holt and Small and the star bat of the popular club shewed in a short time that his right hand had not lost its cunning. All the bowling came alike to him and he hit up 109 runs and was still going strong when time was called. Holt's effort was magnificent, and time and again he brought strokes that won the plaudits of the spectators. The feature of the game was Holt's fine display, his batting being altogether redolent of the days when Lucas were first among their peers. The game ended in a win for Lucas |
1910
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the war years
Daily Gleaner, March 7, 1914,
page 2 - Current Items
It is understood that Mr. S. Snow's recent resignation as Captain of the Lucas Club was due to pressure of business, and it is added that the team will now be led in the field by Mr. J. K. Holt, who has returned to the club in which, up to a short time ago, he filled the position of vice-captain.
The following will represent the Lucas C. C. in the cup match against St. Catherine at Waterloo Park to-day.— S. C. Snow, J. K. Holt, S. Uter, G. Sayles, N. Spencer, O. Scott, L. Nelson , S. Young, H. Jackson, O. Thompson, E. J. Irons and C. Henry.
page 2 - Current Items
It is understood that Mr. S. Snow's recent resignation as Captain of the Lucas Club was due to pressure of business, and it is added that the team will now be led in the field by Mr. J. K. Holt, who has returned to the club in which, up to a short time ago, he filled the position of vice-captain.
The following will represent the Lucas C. C. in the cup match against St. Catherine at Waterloo Park to-day.— S. C. Snow, J. K. Holt, S. Uter, G. Sayles, N. Spencer, O. Scott, L. Nelson , S. Young, H. Jackson, O. Thompson, E. J. Irons and C. Henry.
the 'Twenties'
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Daily Gleaner, November 8, 1921
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Daily Gleaner, October 13, 1921
[The above is a picture of] Mr. J. K. Holt, one of Our Premier Cricketers - Mr. J. K. Holt, Captain of the Lucas C. C., and winner of the batting average for his club for the 1921 season and who has also come out on top of the batting averages in the Senior-Cup Competition. |
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Daily Gleaner, October 12, 1922
Mr. J. K. Holt who has for over two decades maintained his place as one of the greatest cricketers in the island. Last year he won the batting average and bowling averages in the senior cup cricket. This year he was "off" with the bat, but has again won the bowling average of the senior competition. |
Daily Gleaner, November 23, 1925
CRICKET CAREER OF MR. J . K. HOLT
After 20 Years He Has Retained His Strength And Youthful Vigour And Adding to His Experience, Is a Much More Difficult Batsman - His Creditable Performances - A Magnificent Field - Example of a Good Sportsman.
(By SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.)
JOHN KENNETH HOLT — Due entirely to his inherent ability as a Cricketer, Holt's name is now a house-hold word throughout Jamaica, and thousands of people who have never seen him can recollect for a period of over twenty years his great achievements with bat and ball. I happen to have been present at the first match in which he played for Lucas against Kensington when Livingston and Hutton were their great bowlers, and, when, owing to his irreproachable length it was most difficult to score off the first named. I recollect seeing Holt place one of those deliveries in the first over on the boundary. His success in those early days only served to increase his ambition to climb the ladder of cricket fame and the years which have since followed have shown how faithfully he has stuck to his ideal and how successfully he has accomplished it. Continued good health during the period under which I shall review his performances has enabled him, after twenty years to retain all his strength and youthful vigour and at the present time with his added experience he is a much more difficult batsman to get rid of than in his earlier days when he was often trapped in the slips by the rising off-ball.
119 RUNS in 55 MINUTES
He joined the Lucas Club in 1902; previously he had been a member of a now defunct Club called the Windsor C. C. and I think I am right in saying that his introduction to Senior Cup Cricket was owing to a wonderful batting display which he gave for Windsor against the New Century. In that game he made 119 runs in 55 minutes. He signalised his advent, in the Cup Competition by scoring 52 against the Garrison in his first match. In 1904 Kensington and Lucas tied for first place in the Cup and the Committee ordered a tie match to be played; the first game resulted in a draw in which he scored 59; in the second attempt he made 97 out of a total of 161 and Lucas carried off the Championship. Lord Brackley's Team visited us in 1905 and he was among the representatives chosen but was prevented through illness from taking part in any of the games. Later in the same season a Trinidad Team came to Jamaica and he made 67 out of an innings of 113 in the first match. His vigourous methods as a forcing bat may well be illustrated by a Cup match which took place in 1906 at Woodford Park which was then the ground of the Lucas. Melbourne won the toss and scored 106; this left Lucas only 75 minutes in which to make the runs, but in partnership with Moyston [it was] accomplished in 68 minutes. Holt’s undefeated contribution being 68 [?]. I have no records of the earthquake year, 1907, but I understand that in that year he scored over 1,000 runs and that his average was over 100. In 1909 he was selected to represent Jamaica against the Philadelphians, but did not com[pete?]. Dr. Horden, the great Australian google bowler, being too much for him and others who for the first time were brought face to face with that insidious kind of attack. In 1910 he again appeared for Jamaica against Snow’s Isthmian team and at the first match made top score [45?], and in the third 72. In association with E. G. Hull who now resides in Canada and worthily upholds the reputation of this island, the pair put on 150 for the first wicket. For the fourth time in 1911 he appeared on the representative Island Team against Somerset’s M. C. C. Team and made the highest individual score against English visiting teams, 72. As is well known that was the last occasion on which we have had the privilege of entertaining a foreign team. The War, with its after-effects preventing further visits.
In 1919 Melbourne won the Cup and Holt was selected to captain the combined Team at the presentation match.
HIS RECORD YEAR
Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-one was his record year: that Season he scored five centuries in Cup Cricket, four of them in succession, which is a Jamaica record; he made 106 versus Kensington; 127 versus Clovelly; 118 not out versus Kingston; and 145 versus Saint Catherine. In that season he also scored over 1,000 runs.
In 1923 ho was accorded the highest honour of his crlcketing career, being selected as a Jamaica representative on the West Indian Team which toured England during that season. He was not as successful as we all wished and hoped he would have been, his highest score in England being 68, but I would like to quote a paragraph from a critical survey on the West Indian tour by the manager, R. H. Mallet. Writing about the win against Somerset, Mr. MaHet says': 'We made 306 and 134 against 112 and 130. Mention here may properly be made of Holt, whose score of' 56 in this match was his best innings, but not his highest of the tour. He was regarded by many of the team as a hitter and though I agree that he could hit and hit hard he combined his ability a variety of beautiful forcing strokes to third man in front of point—past extra cover—all strokes characteristic of the batting of the side; also he had a good turning stroke to leg. He was good enough to have done much better but was unlucky to have failed on those occasions when a success would have given him more opportunity to repeat it. For his disposition alone as well as loyalty, one would have preferred that he had secured better results.”
PLAY IN BARBADOS
He accompanied the Jamaica Team to Barbados in January of this year, but like many another was not as successful as expected, his highest score in four innings being 45; but he had had the distinction of capturing George Challoner’s wicket on one occasion.
His highest score in Cup Cricket is 173 against Kensington. In the twenty-three years in which he has played Cup Cricket he had scored 54 centuries, and other first class fixtures 20, a total of 74.
Under various captains, he served for twelve years as Vice-Captain of the Club and since Snow’s resignation in 1919 has been Captain.
Since his connection with Lucas he has won the batting average 17 times out of 23; the six other occasions Moyston, Sayles, Wilkins, Marlvaney carried off the honours.
In the Season just completed he came first in the island averages with 80, 66 and a highest score of 160 against Melbourne.
In addition to his value as a batsman he was a magnificent field, brilliant and absolutely safe whether fielding in the slips or in the country.
He has also taken a hand in bowling whether for his Club or for a representative side and on occasions has done some very fine work as for instance when in 1920 he took 6 wickets for 45 against Kingston in a Cup match, and in 1921 against the same Club 7 for 39. He has won the bowling average for his Club on four different occasions. It will thus be seen that Holt ranks as one of the best all-rounders which Jamaica is fortunate enough to possess at the present time.
SERVICES RECOGNISED
I have left for tho last, allusion to an honour done to him by the cricketing public when in 1921 they presented him at Melbourne Park with a souvenir, a Cup, a purse and a photograph in appreciation of the valuable services rendered by him to cricket in Jamaica. The subscriptions to the Fund collected, came from all over the island and in the presence of several hundreds of persons Mr. William Wilson O. B. E. made the presentation. Many representative cricketers were present, and all spoke of the pleasure it gave them to take part in the presentation, and to say a few words about Holt's cricketing career. The consensus of opinion expressed was that he was a good sportsman, whether in good or bad luck and that he played the game for the sake of the game.
If it were necessary to repeat the ceremony at the close of 1925 I am confident that we should all again make the same remarks, for Holt is now as he has ever been, the example of a good sportsman.
the 'Thirties'onwards
Daily Gleaner, January 11, 1968
