West Indies captain Jason Holder to play for Northamptonshire in initial part of 2019 county season

London: West Indies captain Jason Holder will play for Northamptonshire during the first part of the 2019 English season, the club announced on Thursday.

Holder, 27, has led the West Indies to an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ongoing three-Test series at home to England and is currently ranked as the world’s top all-rounder.

The towering fast-medium bowler and hard-hitting batsman will be available for Northamptonshire’s opening two County Championship matches and their first six One-Day Cup games, with Holder set to lead the West Indies in the World Cup in England later in the season.

“England is somewhere I’ve wanted to play for a long time and I’m looking forward to the experience of county cricket and testing myself in the different conditions,” Holder, a veteran of 37 Tests, 85 one-day internationals and eight T20 internationals, told the Northamptonshire website.

“I’m hopeful from a personal point that it will provide me a good opportunity of acclimatising to English conditions and getting some time in the middle ahead of the World Cup in England.”

Holder, banned from this week’s third Test in St Lucia as a result of cumulative slow over-rate offences, is set to arrive in England ahead of the new season to play in Northamptonshire’s opening second division County Championship match against Middlesex.