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.
West Indies recently named seven uncapped players in a weakened 15-man squad for two Tests against Australia later this month, while South Africa also selected seven debutants for their two-Test series in New Zealand next month.
This, as South Africa’s top players have been allowed to focus their efforts on the shorter format, as the New Zealand tour clashes with the country’s premier Twenty20 domestic tournament.
"It's going to happen if the South African Cricket Board are any indication of the future, keeping their best players at home," Waugh said.
"If I was New Zealand, I wouldn't even play the series. I don't know why they're even playing. Why would you when it shows a lack of respect for New Zealand cricket?
"It's pretty obvious what the problem is — the West Indies aren't sending their full-strength side [to Australia this summer]. They haven't picked a full-strength Test team for a couple of years now.
"Someone like Nicholas Pooran is really a Test batsman who doesn't play Test cricket. Jason Holder, probably their best player, is not playing now. Even Pakistan didn't send a full side [to Australia],” he argued.
Both Holder, the Caribbean side's leading all-rounder, and batting all-rounder Kyle Mayers, skipped the Australia tour to explore T20 franchise opportunities.
While he acknowledged there is little financial incentive for smaller nations to play Test cricket, Waugh called for a standardised fee to be implemented by the ICC.
"If the ICC or someone doesn't step in shortly then Test cricket doesn't become Test cricket because you're not testing yourself against the best players,” Waugh said.
"I understand why players don't come; they're not getting paid properly. I don't understand why ICC or the top countries who are making a lot of money don't just have a regulation set fee for Test matches which is a premium so [that] people are incentivised to play Test Cricket. Otherwise, they'll just play T10 or T20.
"The public are the ones who are going to suffer because it's not the full side playing so it's not Test cricket,” he added.
