Fast bowling icon Sir Curtly Ambrose believes it will be difficult for the West Indies to unearth players with similar talents to those from the team’s glory days of the 70s and early 90s because the current crop of players has not grasped what cricket means to the people from the region.
The outspoken 57-year-old Ambrose, who took 405 Test wickets in 98 Tests between 1988 and 2000, was speaking on Talk Sports Live with Michael Bascombe in Antigua on Saturday when he made his stunning declaration.
“This is no disrespect to the players we have now because we have a couple of guys who have some quality in them and can become great but what we have to understand is that I don’t think we will ever see those great, exceptional glory days again,” said the towering Antiguan, who famously took seven wickets for one run in a devastating spell against Australia in Perth in 1993.
“It’s going to be difficult to find another Viv Richards, or a Haynes and Greenidge, a Brian Lara, Richie Richardson; you know, a Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, and the list goes on and one, Clive Lloyd.
“It’s going to be extremely difficult to find those quality players again.”
He believes this to be the case because the modern players have little appreciation for the legacy that made the West Indies great.
“Most of the youngsters we have now, probably don’t quite understand what cricket means to West Indians in the West Indies and abroad because cricket is the only sport that really unites Caribbean people,” argued Ambrose, who took 22 five-wicket hauls during his illustrious Test career.
“When we were the best team in the word, West Indians all over the globe could walk and boast about how good we are because we were the best, so it’s going to be difficult to see those glory days again.
“Yes, we can be competitive and climb up the ICC rankings and be a force to be reckoned with again, but those glory days, I don’t think we will see them again.”
For almost 20 years, the West Indies under the leadership of Sir Clive Lloyd and Sir Vivian Richards was the number-one Test and ODI team in the world. The team won the ODI (Prudential World Cup) in 1975 and 1979 but have not won the tournament since. The West Indies are now ranked eighth on Tests and ODIs and tenth in T20 cricket despite being the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2016 and 2012.
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Ireland shock Pakistan in T20I opener
Ireland shocked Pakistan with a five-wicket victory in the first T20I at Clontarf, with Andrew Balbirnie starring for the hosts.
Balbirnie plundered 77 from 55 balls, including 10 fours and two sixes, and his partnership of 76 with Harry Tector (36) edged Ireland closer to victory.
Curtis Campher (15*) and Gareth Delany (10*) saw them over the line to secure the win with one ball to spare.
Despite an early setback, Pakistan started strong, with Babar Azam hitting 57 and Saim Ayub adding 45.
However, Craig Young’s strong performance saw him take 2-27 as Ireland took control to limit the visitors in the later stages as Azam Khan and Shadab Khan both walked without getting any runs.
The sides will meet again at the Dublin venue on Sunday and Tuesday.
Data Debrief:
Ireland achieved their target of 183 against Pakistan successfully today, making it their highest run chase against a full-member side in men's T20Is.
Ireland's first win against Pakistan came at the 2007 World Cup and 17 years later they secured a first victory over them in T20 cricket.
IPL: Titans broke records to move off the foot of the table
Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill wrote their names into the history books as the Gujarat Titans earned a 35-run victory over Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League on Friday to move eighth.
The pair contributed to a sensational 210 runs between them for the opening wicket – the joint-highest opening stand in IPL history – as the Titans set CSK a daunting target of 232.
Gill was the first to reach his century in the 17th over, plundering 104 off 55 balls, but Sudharsan followed shortly after, hitting 103 off 51 before Tushar Deshpande got both out within the next five balls.
The Titans only added a further 41 runs to finish with 231-3 but stifled CSK when they stepped up to bat.
The Super Kings were 10 for three down inside the first two overs before Daryl Mitchell (63) and Moeen Ali (56) got them into their stride.
Mohit Sharma ensured the Titans ended strongly, finishing with figures of 3-31 to limit CSK to 196-8, leaving them with a tough task to reach the play-offs as they remain in fourth.
Data Debrief: GT history makers
Sudharsan, whose knock included five fours and seven maximums, and Gill, who helped himself to nine fours and six maximums, both scored their first centuries in the IPL this season.
Along the way, Gill and Sudharsan pushed the IPL century count past 100.
IPL: Kohli shines as RCB maintain winning run against Kings
Virat Kohli's superb knock of 92 helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a fourth straight win in the Indian Premier League on Thursday as they kept their playoff hopes alive with a 60-run triumph over Punjab Kings.
Kohli smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 47 balls faced as the Challengers set the Kings a daunting target of 241, with Rajat Patidar also bringing up his half-century and Cameron Green (46 off 27) falling just short of doing so.
The Kings pulled off the biggest run chase in IPL history less than two weeks ago, but their hopes of another comeback were dealt a huge blow when Faf du Plessis took a wonderful over-the-shoulder catch to send Jonny Bairstow packing with Punjab at 71-1.
Kohli's contribution wasn't only limited to the bat, as he produced a stunning run out of Shashank Singh, haring onto the scene to send wickets flying with an underarm throw as Shashank failed to make it back by mere inches.
It was then up to Mohammed Siraj to polish off the Punjab tail, finishing with figures of 3-43 as the Kings fell to back-to-back defeats, keeping them ninth in the standings.
Data Debrief: Kohli leads the way
Having previously claimed the honour in 2016, Kohli leads the way in the race for the 2024 Orange Cap, another impressive innings taking him to 634 runs for the campaign.
Averaging 70.44 with a strike rate of 153.51, Kohli put further distance between himself and Chennai Super Kings' Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose 541 runs put him second in the standings.
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