team debut against Somerset at Taunton on 8 June 1935. He went on to make seven appearances for Hampshire in the 1935 County Championship. The following season, he made only three appearances, but in 1937 he made sixteen appearances. In the County Championship match against Surrey at The Oval in May, he made 78 in the first innings, partnering Johnny Arnold (who had also been a Southampton footballer) in a stand of 122 for the third wicket. In the second innings Holt scored 64, partnering Arthur Pothecary in a stand of 125 for the second wicket, as Hampshire won the match by 71 runs. Holt finished the season on a total of 586 runs at an average of 23.44. His first game in the following season was at Aylestone Road, Leicester in which he scored his first century in county cricket, making 116 and partnering Neil McCorkell in an opening stand of 101. In the second innings he added a further 41 runs, but the match ended in a draw. His only other first-class century came at Edgbaston in June 1939, where he scored 115 against Warwickshire, putting on 137 for the fourth wicket (with Johnny Arnold). In this match he also claimed his only wicket as the match again ended in a draw. He continued to appear for Hampshire after World War II, making his highest season's total of 850 runs in 1946 at an average of 25.00. His final match for Hampshire came at the Manor Sports Ground, Worthing against Sussex in July 1948. In his first-class career, he played 79 matches for Hampshire, scoring 2853 runs at an average of 22.46. Coaching career After retiring from playing, he joined Hampshire's coaching staff at the County Ground, Southampton, where he coached the Colts and is credited with discovering several fine players. In 1953, he helped John Arlott persuade Henry Horton to take up county cricket as his football career at Southampton was winding down. John Arlott describes Holt in his memoirs: "Go to the County Ground on any day in the cricket season – or, for that matter, on a good many days outside it – and somewhere between the indoor school and the pavilion you are likely to meet a comfortable, well-fed-looking man going in one direction when he obviously wants to go in several. He has a rosy face, a quizzical look in his blue eyes