The 22-year-old made his debut under difficult conditions in New Zealand, earlier this month, performing creditably despite a heavy loss for the West Indies. Holder ended with figures of 2 for 110, with one maiden, but often providing some testing deliveries despite not claiming more wickets.
For next month's tour, despite 12 first-team players opting not to take part in the series, there is no space in the Bangladesh Test squad for Holder. One of the players missing is West Indies captain Jason Holder, who typically makes up part of a pace bowling quartet alongside Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, and Alzarri Joseph.
Some believe Holder would have proved a suitable replacement for his namesake, but Cricket West Indies chief of selectors Roger Harper pointed out that the player had been excluded for a spinner, considering the spin-friendly nature of pitches in Asia.
Ambrose, however, does not agree and pointed out that it is crucial the young fast bowler, having shown promise, be given the opportunity to excel in all kinds of conditions.
“That to me is utter nonsense. I can’t support that. If you want to be a top-class international cricketer, you have to be able to bowl on all surfaces, in all conditions anywhere you go,” Ambrose said.
“To me, that type of reason does not hold any water, it is disappointing. Having made his debut in New Zealand and done fairly well on his debut, he is full of confidence, he is one of the guys for the future in my view. To be left out of the Test squad to me was a big surprise…Don’t tell me because it’s a spin-friendly environment that you are going to, you want to walk with 10 spinners, that to me makes no sense.”
According to a release issued by Cricket West Indies (CWI), which roiled the cricketing world on Monday, the body opted to replace Hetmyer with Shamarh Brooks after the player missed a rescheduled flight, having been advised of the consequences of doing so.
The release stated that the player's original flight was changed from Saturday to Monday due to family reasons but did not mention if Hetmyer had given a reason for being unable to catch the second flight.
“I must say I am a bit surprised because who wouldn’t want to play in the World Cup tournament and who wouldn’t want to represent their country,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“What I heard in the media is that he had some family issues. So, I take it that if you are going to miss playing for your country, or playing at the World Cup then he has some serious issues to deal with. I reckon that if that’s the case, you want to ensure that whatever issues he has with his family are being sorted, so he has to miss the World Cup. I wish him well.”
The West Indies secured a 1-0 series win over England after a dominant 10-wicket win in the third Apex Test match in Grenada on Sunday.
The win extended the Windies’ home dominance over England in the past 50 years to eight wins and two draws in 11 series with England’s only series win coming in 2003-04.
“It means a lot not only for the team but for us as Caribbean people,” said Ambrose while working as a commentator for the series.
“We were spoiled, for many years we were the best team in the world, beating everybody. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” he added.
The former fast bowler who ended his Test career with 405 wickets at an average of 20.99 while clearly delighted with the result, explained that the result doesn’t mean the West Indies have suddenly turned a corner.
“Winning one game convincingly doesn’t mean we’ve turned the corner but it’s a step in the right direction. We’ve seen times in the past when they get under pressure they tend to crumble. That didn’t happen in this series,” he said.
The ECB put out an advertisement for three vacant positions, pace-bowling coach, spin-bowling coach and batting coach, in December. Interviews were conducted in recent weeks after applications closed last month.
Ambrose, who made known that he had applied for the post a few weeks ago, revealed that he had been contacted but unfortunately was not selected for the post.
“I got a call from one of the panellists yesterday [Thursday] to inform me that I was unsuccessful in my bid. The interview went very well. There were four panellists and everything went according to plan and I thought I did a wonderful job, so I was pretty excited. I thought I probably would have made it but I am not going to really worry too much about it. To have made the shortlist is a step in the right direction obviously,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
With the Ashes on the horizon, Ambrose, who has taken 128 wickets against Australia (fourth-best all-time, with the best economy rate among the top 5), admits that he was hoping that his previously dominant performances down under might have weighed in his favour.
“I was expecting to be part of the squad considering the World T20 coming up and, of course, the Ashes. You know that when England play Australia in the Ashes, it’s a big one and I thought that maybe because of my tremendous success in Australia that it would have, at least, given me an extra step, but it didn’t work out and I am quite happy with how everything went. In life, we get some good news and some not so good, and you learn to accept it and move on,” he said.
The 57-year-old previously worked as West Indies bowling consultant between 2014 and 2016. He was replaced by Roddy Estwick.
His 65 off just 19 balls for the Colombo Kings late last week, made news around the world further enhancing the Jamaican’s reputation as one of the world’s best T20 players.
However, not everyone is happy that the Jamaican is playing in Sri Lanka after declining an invitation to represent the West Indies during the recent T20 series in New Zealand where the West Indies lost 2-0. The third match was washed out.
Among them is former West Indies fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose, who believes Cricket West Indies, needs to review its decision to allow players like Russell to represent the regional side only when it suits them to do so. CWI CEO Johnny Grave recently explained that Russell received a No-Objection Certificate to play in the Lankan Premier League because the player does not a centralized contract with CWI.
That situation has rankled the fast-bowling great.
“The guys who are in control, in authority, have to decide to make some serious decisions and stick with it for the cricket to move forward. I think that we are going about this thing too casual. Guys can do what they feel, come into the team when they feel like, go to ply their trade to the different franchises, leave West Indies cricket for dead and then come back into the team,” Ambrose said while speaking on Mason & Guest radio show in Barbados on Tuesday.
“To me, that is a no-no. We have to show some form of commitment to West Indies cricket. We have to make some drastic and hard decisions and stick with it and the cricket can get better.”
Chief selector Roger Harper said Russell declined the invitation to represent the West Indies citing the need to clear his mind after being in quarantine lockdown for both the Caribbean Premier League in Trinidad and Tobago where he played for the Jamaica Tallawahs franchise and then, the Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi where he played for the Kolkata Knight Riders.
Ambrose said while he is not opposed to the player taking a break, once he returned to cricket, his priority should have been the West Indies.
“Because he wants to clear his head for a while to get his mind together, I have no problem with that because cricket is a high-pressure game. So if you want to clear your head for a while, take your mind off cricket I have no issues with that, but if you are going to reject playing for your nation, your country, and then two weeks later you’re playing for somebody else, that to me is a no-no,” Ambrose said.
“Where is the commitment? That tells me that you don’t want to play for the West Indies. If that is the case, just say so.”
The 22-year-old Holder who took 36 wickets during the recent West Indies Championships tells Sportsmax.TV that while he was growing up, the lanky Antiguan great was one of his heroes.
“From (I was) young it was Sir Curtly. Even now it’s Sir Curtly. I met him a few times. We spoke and he gave me some good advice so I am still working hard at my game every time I play and I take his advice in every game,” Holder told Sportsmax.TV.
He also reveals the best bit of advice he has received from the now-retired fast-bowling great, which he said came in handy in a couple of games this past season.
“The best advice he gave me is that every day is not going to be the same. You will come one day and bowl good and only get one wicket, or you might not get any and then you will come another day and think that you’re struggling and end up taking five wickets, so just keep working hard and take the game seriously all the time,” Holder revealed.
That advice he said served him well in the Barbados Pride’s first game against the Windward Islands Volcanoes in St. Vincent when his length was off and then against the Leeward Islands Hurricanes in St Kitts where he struggled with his run up.
He failed to take a wicket against the Volcanoes and only three against the Hurricanes.
According to the reports, should Ambrose get the job, he would be required to work with England’s emerging pace bowlers as well as with the senior team and England A squads.
“Yes, I have applied,” Ambrose told Sportsmax.TV, saying he was confident about getting the job.
“Anything I do or try to get involved with I am confident to try to do the things that I can.”
He said it was always his plan to give back to the sport of cricket that has given him so much during his illustrious career.
The 57-year-old former Antigua and Barbuda and West Indies bowler was employed by the West Indies in 2016 during their successful T20 World Cup campaign and has worked as mentor and coach for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.
Ambrose represented the West Indies between 1988 and 2000 taking 405 Test wickets at a healthy average of 20.99, the lowest average among fast bowlers who have taken more than 400 wickets.
The 56-year-old Ambrose, one of the most revered bowlers in world cricket, previously served as the bowling consultant for the senior team. He was, however, replaced by Roderick Estwick in 2016 and has not been involved with the program since. According to the legendary pace bowler, however, it isn’t for a lack of trying. Ambrose has since added to his coaching credentials, becoming one of 25 officials from the Caribbean and North America to attain Level Three coaching certification from a program organised by Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2018.
“Since I was sacked from the senior team back in 2016, I have done a few bits and pieces in-between, in terms of some coaching stints with a few fast bowlers, but not on a consistent basis,” Ambrose said in a recent interview on Antigua’s Good Morning Jojo radio show.
Coaching is, however, not the only job the former player has applied for. He recently also threw his hat in the ring for a position on the selection panel.
“I figured whether it is coaching, being a selector, or whatever I could do to help West Indies Cricket go forward, I am always ready and willing to do so. There was nothing to do to in terms of the coaching part of it, so I decided to put in for being a selector because I thought that I could help, because I am a very fair-minded person and I just want to see West Indies cricket get better," Ambrose said.
"They interviewed me, Jimmy Adams and the vice president (Dr. Kishore Shallow), for about an hour, and I didn't quite make it."
Hope was among the few standout players when the team played England in the 2017 series. In fact, his two finely crafted 100s played a critical role in the team turning the tables on England for a shock victory in the second Test at Headingly.
To say Hope has struggled since then, however, could only be construed as a massive understatement. He has averaged below 25 in 21 Tests, with no hundreds and managed scores of 16, 9, 25 and 7 in the first two Tests against England. With the final and decisive Test on the horizon, Ambrose believes some time out of the spotlight could be good for the 26-year-old, and that on the flip side, repeated failure could permanently damage the player.
"Something has gone terribly wrong for him since those two centuries at Headingley - he hasn't done anything really in Test cricket since then," said Ambrose recently told Sky Sports.
"He is a much better player than what he is showing at the moment and is obviously very low on confidence,” he added.
"Maybe in the next game we should rest him so he can regain some confidence. If you keep playing him and he keeps failing it will only get worse. You are going to destroy him if it continues like that.”
Earlier this week, former Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Dave Cameron was reported as saying that Hetmyer should replace Pollard as the team’s new white-ball captain. In further clarifying the issue, however, Cameron has since explained that he believes his administration would have done more to groom the player to take over the post by now.
With Hetmyer plagued by issues of inconsistency and fitness over the last few years, however, Ambrose does not believe having to handle the pressure of the captaincy would be the right move for the batsman at this time.
“I certainly wouldn't (make him captain). Hetmyer is a young man and could be a future captain in the making but I think Hetmyer needs to get his game in order first,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“He needs to get his game in order. It’s too big a responsibility for the young man at this moment when he’s not playing as well,” he added.
“For me, I would like to see Hetmyer focus on his batting. First and foremost get it right and then who knows what can happen a few years later but I wouldn’t give it to him now, being the captain is added pressure.”
In ODI cricket, Hetmyer is currently averaging 35.29 and has played 47 matches for the regional team.
The infamous incident happened during the 1995 Australia tour of the Caribbean, in a tightly contested third Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad. As it happened, a visibly bristling Ambrose had to be pulled away from Aussie batsman Steve Waugh after an obviously heated exchange that looked set to boil over. It was a strange sight for most as the towering fast bowler was known for being reluctant to exchange pleasantries, let alone be involved a full-on verbal joust. Ambrose recently recalled the incident.
“Steve Waugh and I had our battles over the years. He was a tough competitor and I have a lot of respect for him but in that particular game, he said something to me that I didn’t like,” Ambrose recounted in an interview with Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.
“Initially I ignored it, as in the heat of the battle you can say things, but after a break, something just snapped,” he went on.
“I asked him, ‘did you say so and so to me?’ He didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. He just said ‘I can say anything I want to say’ which to me was a yes. I decided I deserved more respect so I had a few choice words for him.
“I said ‘my cricket career could be over right this minute, it doesn’t make a difference to me, but your career will be over, too, because I’ll knock you out and you won’t be able to play anymore’. There were a few expletives in between obviously!
Ambrose, who was named player of the match, went on to end the Test with overall figures of 9 for 65, including a 4 for 20 haul in the second innings. The West Indies went on to win the match by nine wickets but Australia claimed the Frank Worrell Trophy after winning the series 2-1. The West Indian has insisted that are no hard feelings between the two, but it has not been a subject that has been broached in any encounters since.
The fiery fast bowler claimed some 405 Test wickets with some 22,103 balls but none of them ever dislodged the wickets of India great Tendulkar. In general, Ambrose statistics suggest that on a whole he may have underperformed against India. In nine Test matches, with two contests in the Caribbean - 1989 and 1997 - Ambrose took only 15 wickets at an average of 38.33 with only one five wicket haul.
In the 1997 series, Tendulkar scored a total of 270 runs with an average of 67.5, Ambrose managed to claim just 7 wickets for the five-match series. At the peak of his powers in 1994, he missed out on the West Indies tour to India after sustaining a rotator cup injury and perhaps an epic showdown with Tendulkar. The batsman hammered 213 runs, in the three-Test series, including 179 in the second Test.
“I would say Sachin Tendulkar because I’ve never gotten him out in a Test match,” Ambrose said in an interview with the Antigua Observer.
“I’ve played a few Tests against him but have never gotten him out although I’ve gotten him out in One Day cricket, so if I could relive that, I would have loved to have gotten him out.”
Tendulkar regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, is the highest run scorer in international cricket and has scored 51 Test centuries.
In the light of the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka, which ended with two drawn games, several former players and Windies coach Phil Simmons has expressed dissatisfaction with the surface prepared for the tour.
The debate has, however, raged on long before that, with Ambrose himself listed among those previously suggesting that many of the pitches prepared are too flat and offer little assistance to bowlers.
The West Indies, Sri Lanka series has only added to the dissatisfaction. In both Test matches, Sri Lanka, then the West Indies, the teams enjoyed comfortable leads headed into the final day but ended up doing very little to disturb the batsmen in the pursuit of wickets.
“I have seen local cricket played at Sir Viv Richards cricket stadium where you have grass on the pitch and the ball bounces and carries with good pace … so it’s not a situation where it cannot be done,” Ambrose told the Good Morning Jojo Radio show.
“I felt that the pitches were a little too flat and I’ve been saying this for years — we need to prepare better cricket pitches where the batsmen could play their strokes and the ball bounces a bit for the bowlers,” he added.
Having previously played under another bowling great, Courtney Walsh, Lara officially took charge of the West Indies team for the 1997-98 England tour of the Caribbean. The move was not without some controversy at the time, as some felt the then 28-year-old had been instrumental in forcing Walsh out of the post. Ambrose seems to have been among them.
“Brian Lara, to me, was too hasty to lead the West Indies team. We knew he was going to be the natural successor to Courtney Walsh because when Courtney Walsh became the captain he [Walsh] had a couple of years left in him and all Brian Lara had to do was just wait on his turn because Courtney was doing a fairly good job,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
Walsh had taken over the post from Richie Richardson for the 1994-95 West Indies tour of India. While in charge, the bowler went on to lead the team for 22 Test matches with a record of 6 wins 7 losses and 9 draws. In ODIs, where he led the team 43 times, the West Indies won 22 lost 20, with one no result.
Lara oversaw the team for 47 Test matches, where they won 10, lost 26 and drew 11. In ODIs he captained for 125 matches, winning 59, losing 59, with 7 no results.
“He was too anxious to be the captain and there was no competition because once Courtney left the scene he would have, but he realized it was not as easy as he probably thought. A lot of people were upset for him with that because he made it public that he wanted to be the captain; he campaigned for it and to me, it was disappointing,” he said.
Despite the team’s struggles, Lara performed well as captain individually, his 3725 runs and 5 centuries putting him 14th for most runs scored as a captain. In Tests, he ranks 8th with 4685 and 14 hundreds, including his record 400.
The novel coronavirus epidemic has wreaked havoc across the globe, as health officials battle to contain the deadly pandemic. With many countries opting for social distancing and enforcing curfews, professional sporting activity has numbered among the things postponed.
The former West Indies fast bowler, however, cautioned young players to stay on their toes, as much as possible, with an eye turned toward life after the end of the epidemic.
“What I would say to the younger cricketers is that even though we are practicing social distancing and all that stuff, find a way to do a little training so you can improve on your skills. You could have two or three guys with you or maybe a bowling machine or whatever the case might be but rather than sit around for months — because we don’t know how long this is going to last — and then all of a sudden you are trying to get back in shape. So, you should find a way to maintain your fitness, find a way to keep working on your skills so that whenever this thing is over, you won’t have to start from scratch,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
“It’s quite simple, just keep listening to the health people because they are in that for a reason, they know what’s best for us. Listen to them, follow the protocols, wear your face masks, wash your hands but just listen to the health people, to the experts and do what they say to do, keep isolating yourself and this thing will soon pass,” he added.
The 1993 winner-takes-all showdown between the teams was decided by Ambrose’s magical 32 ball spell - from 85 for 2, the Australians tumbled to 119 all out. West Indies closed the first day on 135 for 1, and that was effectively that. The match was over by lunch on the third day.
In recently reflecting on the match itself, however, the bowler explained that the almost perfect circumstances for fast bowling was one reason the spell did not rank at the top of his list.
“When people ask me about some of my top spells, I will include that, because seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries is unheard of but I’ve never had it at the top of the tree,” Ambrose told the Mason and Guest radio program.
“It was the best spell, yes, but when you looked at the game itself, the first morning of a Test match, the pitch was ripe for fast bowling. Everything was there for a fast bowler. I was not under any pressure or anything, that is why I never rated it as my best spell,” he added.
Interestingly, the WACA groundsman was subsequently dismissed for preparing such a home away from home pitch for Ambrose and the other Windies bowlers.
“The spell against South Africa, I would put it ahead because of the nature of the game. Our backs were against the wall. When we bowled England out in Trinidad for 46, I would have that spell ahead of it as well because of the nature of the game. The 8 for 45 against England in Barbados is the same thing. The situations were all different but that 7 for 1, I was not under any pressure on the first morning with a good pitch.”
Richards represented Somerset and Glamorgan during his English domestic game and was named as the best overseas player at both counties.
The 17 county winners then went through to the overall vote.
Richards won 90 per cent of the Somerset votes and 38 per cent of the votes at Glamorgan where he spent four seasons.
According to the BBC, Richards hit 58 centuries in his 14,698 first-class and 7,349 one-day runs for Somerset until 1986, when he and Garner were ousted as overseas signings, and Botham resigned in protest, but not before the county had won five one-day trophies from 1979 to 1983.
Meanwhile, Lloyd won the Lancashire vote with 66 per cent of the vote. The ‘Big Cat’ represented Lancashire from 1968 to 1986.
The left-handed batsman played 219 first-class games for Lancashire, hitting 30 centuries while scoring 12,764 runs. With Lancashire, he won the first two one-day league titles (1969 and 1970) as well as four Gillette Cups between 1970 and 1975.
Curtly Ambrose the top man at Northamptonshire with 47 per cent of the vote.
Between 1989 and 1996, Ambrose took 318 wickets in 78 first-class matches and 115 wickets in 95 one-day appearances for Northants while helping Northants' to the NatWest Trophy at Lord's in 1992.
West Indies opener Desmond Haynes won 52 per cent of the Middlesex vote. During his five seasons there between 1989 and 1994, the Barbadian batsman made 7,071 runs in 95 matches, at an average of 49.10 scoring 21 centuries along the way.
He also made six more hundreds in one-day cricket, scoring 4,105 runs for Middlesex in 96 matches, and helped Middlesex win three trophies; the County Championship in 1990 and 1993, plus the Sunday League in 1992.
Fast-bowling legend Malcolm Marshall took 826 first-class and 239 List A wickets in his 11 years with Hampshire spread between 1979 and 1993. He also scored 5,847 first-class runs, including five centuries and 26 fifties, and a further 2,073 in one-day cricket.
These significant contributions saw him win 47 per cent of the Hampshire vote.
Another West Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding won 51 per cent of the vote at Derbyshire where between 1983 and 1989; he took 224 first-class wickets in 66 games and claimed 154 one-day scalps.
Twelve players, including West Indies captain Jason Holder, vice-captain Roston Chase and T20 captain Kieron Pollard opted not make themselves available for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh this month. The players cited health and safety reasons in their decision to reject the tour.
The absence of the team’s first-string players will see Kraigg Brathwaite, lead the Test squad with Jermaine Blackwood as vice-captain. Former West Indies A team captain, Jason Mohammed, will lead the ODI team with Sunil Ambris as vice-captain.
There will be first-time call-ups for Kavem Hodge to the Test squad and left-handed opener Shayne Moseley and all-rounder Kyle Mayers touring in the Test squad for the first time, after being part of the reserve team to England and New Zealand.
Two players earned first call-ups to the ODI squad - Akeal Hosein, a left-arm spinner allrounder, and Kjorn Ottley, a left-handed top-order batsman. Despite expecting difficult conditions for the tour, Ambrose hopes some of the players will use the opportunity to challenge for regular places.
“I think it’s the perfect opportunity for some of these youngsters who have been knocking on the door for some time now to show the selectors and the rest of the cricket people that they are ready for this kind of cricket,” Ambrose told the Good Morning Jojo radio show.
“I am hoping these guys do very well with Bangladesh. Whether we win the series, draw the series, or even lose the series, I hope they do extremely well so that when they get back home lead selector Roger Harper and company will have some headaches to decide who to select.”
In the end, West Indies and Sri Lanka played to a 0-0 Test series draw with neither team really able to press home advantages at various stages in both matches. In a reversal of fortunes, it was the West Indies who had headed into the final day of the final Test with a big lead and looking to put the pressure on the visitors. The team, however, managed to take two wickets as Sri Lanka closed the day on 193 for 2. Ambrose, however, believes the West Indies did not give themselves enough time to win the game.
“I think that we didn’t show enough intent to try and win that game. We batted too long in my opinion, we took too long to score the runs which means we didn’t have enough time to bowl out Sri Lanka on a very placid surface and I thought that the urgency in getting those quick runs wasn’t there. We batted too long,” Ambrose told the Antigua Observer.
During the second innings, with team captain Kraigg Brathwaite anchoring the unit on the third day, Ambrose believes the batting line-up should have been re-tooled in an attempt to score more quickly.
“We know the captain Kraigg Brathwaite isn’t going to take an attacker path. He is one of those guys who are going to bat for long and accumulate his runs and nothing is wrong with that,” Ambrose added.
“Kyle Mayers we know will go on the attack but I thought that later on after Kyle Mayers got out, we should have at least sent Jimbo [Rahkeem Cornwall] or Alzarri Joseph ahead of Da Silva to get some quicker runs so we could have enough time after the declaration to try and bowl out Sir Lanka. Sending Da Silva to me wasn’t a good move at that particular stage.”
Ambrose insisted, however, that there were several positives to be taken from the display.
“You can see that the guys are putting a lot more thought into the cricket which is very good to see. They have been patient, they try to construct their innings in terms of the batting and even in the bowling department, you could see they were really trying to bowl in good areas and not just trying to get a wicket every ball."
