Jason Holder

Before he turned 24, Jason Holder was handed the West Indies captaincy at a time of deep turmoil. His calm authority steadied a side in transition, and he prioritised discipline and professionalism, often shielding younger players from the noise around the team. His finest stretch as leader came in early 2019, when his unbeaten 202 in Barbados set up a series win over England, and that year he was ranked the world's No.1 Test all-rounder. The captaincy passed on in 2021, but the standards he set remain.

As a towering all-rounder, Holder's bowling evolved from steady support into genuine wicket-taking, his height extracting awkward bounce on the flattest decks. His 6 for 42 at Southampton in 2020 gave West Indies victory in the first Test played after the pandemic shutdown. His batting matured into a real asset too, repeatedly dragging West Indies out of precarious positions with the lower order, his measured approach frustrating attacks that thought the job was done.

A regular across franchise leagues, from the CPL with Barbados to the IPL and The Hundred, Holder has also been one of the game's more thoughtful voices, speaking up for Test cricket's survival and for fairer player pay. As a senior statesman of West Indies cricket, he continues to mentor and lead by example, his professionalism earning respect well beyond the Caribbean.