Jon Holland

Jonathan Mark Holland (born 29 May 1987) is a former Australian cricketer. He played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and a right-handed tail-end batsman.

Early career Holland made his state cricket debut for Victoria in October 2008. He only played four first-class games in the 2008–09 Sheffield Shield season and didn't secure a permanent place in Victoria's first-class team, as he had to compete for a place in the team with the much older spin bowler Bryce McGain. However, he made his debut at a time when Australia lacked top-level spin bowlers, so he was rushed into Australia's second-level team, Australia A, for a series against Pakistan A in June 2009. He was set to make his One Day International debut in the final match of the series, but the match was cancelled due to rain. Holland experienced injury problems with his left shoulder through his early career, forcing him to undergo a shoulder reconstruction in 2010.

Holland was joined at Victoria by fellow spin bowler Fawad Ahmed, who gradually took over from Holland as Victoria's first choice spinner. In the 2015–16 Sheffield Shield season, Holland was used primarily in matches where Victoria needed two spin bowlers. Despite this he still performed well in the matches where he was selected.

International career In July 2016, Holland was selected for Australia A to replace the injured Ashton Agar. He made his Test debut on 4 August 2016 in the second Test and had his baggy green cap presented to him by former Australian fast bowler Merv Hughes. He bowled alongside Nathan Lyon on spinning pitches in Sri Lanka, but he failed to have a strong impact.

Holland did not become a regular member of the Test team, as Nathan Lyon remained their first-choice spin bowler and both O'Keefe and Agar were ahead preferred to Holland when fit. Holland wasn't included in the Test squad again until January 2018, when he was selected to join the team's upcoming tour of South Africa.

Holland's performances at state level put him back up as Australia's second-choice spin bowler, and played alongside Lyon again against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October 2018. He struggled again on turning pitches, because his finger spin technique was unable to get as much out of the pitch as Australia's part-time wrist spin bowler Marnus Labuschagne.