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Change Your Life! |
West Indies face crisis without Ambrose and Walsh |
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August 9, 2000
MANCHESTER (AP) - West Indies cricket looks set to face a crisis of unprecedented proportion when two of its famous sons - Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh - step aside. The end of the current series against England could mark the end of two remarkable careers that have run parallel since November 1988. Ambrose, 36, is adamant about not continuing after the five-test series. Walsh, 37, who is on the verge of becoming the first bowler in history to take 500 test wickets, may follow his fast bowling soulmate. But there are growing pleas for them to reconsider. Without the two fast bowlers, West Indies cricket could hit rock bottom. It the current series, Ambrose and Walsh have claimed 33 wickets while two other bowlers - Reon King and Franklyn Rose - have taken only 12 in the three tests. West Indies' next destination is Australia, a side it hasn't beaten since 1992-93. To play there - let along win there - without Ambrose and Walsh looks like a mission impossible. Ambrose says it's unfair that he and Walsh have do so much of the bowling. Rose, King and Nixon McLean have been around for a long time, but they have failed to produce. Former fast bowler Colin Croft said: "One of the things that made the West Indies so great in the 70s and 80s was that we were able to tear pieces out of each other in the dressing room, only to rally round captains on the field. "We had a lot of arguments, but everybody understood we had only one thing on our mind, and that was for the team to do well," Croft said. West Indies' remarkable turnaround in the rain-marred third test at Old Trafford, which ended Monday, was largely due to Ambrose and Walsh, who took eight wicket between them to check a runaway England first innings. "I know my body and I know when it's time to go," Ambrose said in a recent interview. "I've been written off many times. I've set very high standards and when I've had a bad day, or even a bad spell, people have said its all over. Things like that motivate me and I've always said I will leave when I can't do the job anymore. "It gives me pleasure when people write me off and I come back and take wickets. It's funny that the same critics who have written me off are now saying that I'm leaving too soon and that I've still got a lot to offer," Ambrose said. Walsh with 472 wickets in 120 tests said: "Curtly has said he's leaving the scene and I won't be much longer behind him. Some mornings you wonder why you're up so early, but once I get to the ground the buzz comes back. "I've always said that while I'm taking wickets, competing and doing a job for the team then I'm happy. It's still happening at the moment." "I've set my own standards and goals and if you want to reach the top you have to work hard. The secret for me was to stay fit and look after my body. It's also important to listen to its calls and respond to them. It's hard to go to the gym sometimes but you have to be strong enough to say, `I'm not going down to the pub to play dominoes."' |