WAYNE Holdsworth says ACA Masters captain Greg Blewett was to blame for his 'John Howard' ball in Friday night's Twenty20 match.
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Feared by batsman as a genuine quick in his playing days for New South Wales, Holdsworth's first delivery at the QEO almost didn't hit the pitch as it stuck in his hand and bobbled off for a wide.
![QUICK: Wayne Holdsworth sends one down at the QEO as Isaac Conway backs up. QUICK: Wayne Holdsworth sends one down at the QEO as Isaac Conway backs up.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/storypad-WzE9X3cjaUAAqdWNmNfkUJ/417e25b9-53bd-4036-83ee-5266fad4f754.JPG/r0_116_3304_2485_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I was caught a bit off guard by the captain, it's pretty cold here and he told me I was on with two balls to go," Holdsworth said.
"So I'm going to use that as the excuse, but it was pretty poor, yeah, it wasn't great."
When told he might be nicknamed 'John Howard', after the former Prime Minister and self-confessed cricket tragic whose poor bowling is a Youtube hit, Holdsworth said he'd already been called 'The Mayor'.
Former Bendigo mayor Rod Fyffe bowled the opening ball of the match, which came out in a similar style to Holdsworth's first delivery.
"I'm already getting called 'The Mayor' out there at the moment, it's going to stick I think," 45-year-old Holdsworth joked.
With 212 first-class wickets to his name, Holdsworth can probably be excused one bad ball.