Curtly Ambrose made
his debut for the West Indies after only six first class matches in
1988, and for 12 years Ambrose was known to his West
Indies team-mates, as the Calypso-singing, guitar-playing, leg-pulling
entertainer. However once Test duty called he transformed
himself into the meanest most feared fast bowler of his era.
Standing 6 feet, 7 inches, Ambrose was taller than any bowler in
international cricket and made full use of his height to generate lift
and unerring accuracy to disconcert batsmen.
After bursting into the Test
team in 1988 Curtly Ambrose was the bowler on whom the West Indies
depended on, more than any other. And time and time again during his
career, Ambrose inspired dramatic West Indian victories with his
incisive fast bowling. Two spells stand out: the 6 for 24 that bundle
England out for 46 in the third Test in Trinidad in 1993-94, and his
series-clinching burst of 7 for 25 against Australia in the fifth Test
at the WACA in 1993.
Curtly Ambrose along with
Courtney Walsh, formed one of the greatest opening bowling
partnerships, as evidenced by the 421 wickets they shared in the 49
test matches they played together. In Test cricket, Ambrose played in
98 Test, he bowled 1001 maiden overs (roughly two in every seven), and
took 405 wickets (the fifth bowler to exceed the 400 wicket barrier) at
a bowling average of 20.99. Ambrose best performance was 8 for 45
against England at Barbados in 1990 (in 34 Tests against England he
took 164 wickets, dismissing Mike Atherton 17 times); he took five
wickets or better on 25 occasions.
At the age of 37, Curtly Ambrose
retired from Test cricket after the 2000 West Indies tour to England.
After retirement Ambrose and Richie Richardson started
a band call 'New Dread and the Baldhead'. Ambrose is
currently a Stanford 20/20 legend with responsibilty for teams Nevis;
St. Kitts.
Curtly Ambrose Test Cricket
Statistics
Full Name
Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose
Number
of Test
98
Number of ODIs
176
Test Run Aggregate
1,439
ODI Run Aggregate
639
Test
Batting Average
12.40
ODI
Batting Average
10.65
Total Test Wickets
405
Total ODI Wickets
225
Test Bowling Average
20.99
ODI Bowling Average
24.12
Test
Centuries
0
ODI
Centuries
0
Date of Birth
September
21, 1963, Swetes Village, Antigua
Test Debut
West
Indies v Pakistan at Georgetown - Apr 2-6, 1988
Last Test Match
England
v West Indies at The Oval - Aug 31-Sep 4, 2000
ODI Debut
West Indies v Pakistan at
Kingston - Mar 12, 1988
Last ODI Match
West Indies v Pakistan at
Port of Spain - Apr 23, 2000
Batting
Style
Left hand bat
Bowling
Style
Right-arm fast
Screenshot
Description
Ambrose and Walsh
Destroys South Africa One of the greatest test matches
played at Barbados with South Africa needing only 79 runs for victory
on the final day and 8 wickets in hand. They were still swept aside by
the pace and aggression of the West Indies. Eight wickets disappeared
for 25 runs in 20 overs under a devastating spell of bowling by Courtney Walsh and Ambrose. This DVD captures the final day's excitement.
