Legend wants to develop “winning attitude”
Sir Hilary: Ambrose will bring excellence
Bridgetown, Barbados – West Indies fast bowling great Curtly Ambrose says he is excited to work with the young players in the Combined Campuses & Colleges cricket programme.
The 48-year-old was speaking during a Media Conference on Wednesday at the 3Ws Oval shortly after being announced as the newest member of the CCC coaching staff. His assignment as Fast Bowling Consultant started earlier this week and he will work with the team for the duration of the Regional 4 Day Tournament. He will also conduct a camp for emerging fast bowlers during the Regional 4 Day tournament break from February 28 and March 5.
“I am excited and really looking forward to working with the members of the CCC team. I was very impressed with the way I saw them play on a few occasions and I am happy to come on board and assist in any way I can. I think I know a few things about fast bowling and I believe the players here can benefit from my knowledge and experience. I have always indicated my willingness to give back and this is one area I can contribute,” said Ambrose with a smile.
“This team has some talented players and I know we can win games at the regional level and even go on to win the regional championship. I want to help to develop a team of winners. I want to be part of a winning team with a winning culture. I also want to help develop players to go on and represent the West Indies with distinction. That is the ultimate goal. It cannot get any higher than that.”
Ambrose represented the West Indies between 1988 and 2000 and is one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. He played 98 Test matches and took 405 wickets at 20.99 runs apiece. His best bowling figures were eight for 45 against England in Barbados in 1990.
He played in 176 One-Day Internationals and took 225 wickets at an average of 24.12 each with an economy rate of 3.48. Last year he was inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame during the annual awards ceremony in London. In recent years he has been working as an analyst on radio with Line & Length Network and as an analyst on television with ESPN during the WICB’s Caribbean T20 tournament.
Sir Hilary Beckles, Principal on the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies and a Director of the West Indies Cricket Board, welcomed Ambrose to the CCC set-up.
“Curtly Ambrose is undoubtedly one of the greatest bowlers the world has ever seen. He is an icon of international cricket and we at the CCC are delighted to have him on our team. He will be with the CCC team for the duration of the Regional 4 Day tournament and we know he will do a superb job with the talented players we have here. The same excellence which Ambrose demonstrated to the world when he played, we know he will bring that excellence to the CCC,” Sir Hilary said.
CCC lost their opening match to Trinidad & Tobago last weekend. Their second match will be against the Leeward Islands, starting on Friday at the 3Ws Oval. First ball is 10 am (9 am Jamaica Time).
· The winning team in the Regional 4 Day tournament will be the awarded the Headley/Weekes Trophy in honour of West Indies greats George Headley and Sir Everton Weekes.
Other Awards
Batting (Most Runs) – The Vivian Richards Award
Bowling (Most Wickets) – The Courtney Walsh Award
Fielding (Most Catches) – The Clive Lloyd Award
Allrounder (Leading Allrounder) – The Malcolm Marshall Award
Wicket-keeping (Most Dismissals) – The Deryck Murray Award
Most Promising Fast Bowler – The Andy Roberts Award
Upcoming matches – 2nd round: Friday February 10 to Monday February 13
Combined Campuses & Colleges vs Leeward Islands at 3Ws Oval, Barbados
Jamaica vs Barbados at Sabina Park, Jamaica
Windward Islands vs Guyana at Windsor Park, Dominica