Let old warrior Ambi go gracefully, Sir Viv- hitting out

Sir Vivian Richards and Brian Lara are two of cricket's most respected figures.

Any comment either makes on the game should always be taken seriously.

Recently, both have expressed a desire to see Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh make themselves available for the West Indies' tour of Australia later in the year.

Sir Vivian and Lara are gentlemen I have always had a lot of admiration for. Almost everything they say, I tend to agree on.

This time, however, I do not see things their way.

Make no mistake about it: Ambrose and Walsh remain high-class fast bowlers capable of blasting away any opposition.

Ambrose has already announced his intention to call it quits after the current England tour and no one should try to encourage him to change his mind.

He has made a sterling contribution to West Indies cricket for 12 years, and as he has pointed out, he prefers to leave the game on a high.

Eighty-seven wickets in his last 21 Tests during the last two years may indicate he still has it in him.

Walsh remains undecided over his future and we eagerly await word. He, too, has been outstanding during the last two years in which he has taken 112 scalps in 23 Tests.

While Ambrose and Walsh still remain world-beaters, we must accept the reality that the time will come when we will have to do without both.

What we don't want, however, is for both of them to leave the world stage at the same time.

If that happens, the new, young crop of fast bowlers will have to take the big leap and be immediately cast into the role of spearheads. It must be a gradual process.

Reon King and Franklyn Rose have shown that they are the ones ready to fill be breach, but everyone will admit that they lack consistency, Rose moreso than King.

They still need guidance, but they will only get better if they have more opportunity and more responsibility.

One way in which they can get further responsibility is if they are given a chance to share the new ball. With Ambrose and Walsh around, that's hardly going to be the case.

The ideal situation is that either King or Rose should have the opportunity to use the 'cherry' with one of the greats, namely Walsh.

By the time Walsh bows out, that person would have had enough experience with the new ball and would have learnt a thing or two in partnership with the world record-holder.

It should not come down to a case where King and Rose have to start the attack together for the first time when neither has had an extended chance to do so.

One of them should be groomed to take over. It won't happen if Ambrose and Walsh are around at the same time. Only one is needed to fulfil that purpose.