No, no, Mr. Ambrose (20 October 1998)

20 October 1998

No, no, Mr. Ambrose

Tony Becca

Curtly Ambrose is undoubtedly the greatest bowler in the world and one of the best of all time.

A veteran of 80 Test matches, the Antiguan star has taken 337 wickets at an average of 21.16, 10 in a match on three occasions, five in an innings 18 times, and apart from a best bowling performance of eight for 45 against England at Kensington Oval, his seven for 25 against Australia at Perth during the 1992-93 series includes the most devastating spell in the history of the game - seven wickets for one run in 32 deliveries.

No question about it - Ambrose has made a tremendous contribution to the greatness of West Indies cricket.

On Saturday at Kaiser, however, in the Red Stripe Bowl semi-final match against Trinidad and Tobago, the man embarrassed West Indies cricket.

With the match in the balance and Brian Lara on the go and threatening to swing it in his team's favour, Ambrose returned to the attack, Lara stroked a few deliveries confidently, Ambrose bowled him a nasty delivery, Lara attempted to duck, fell on to the pitch, and umpire Thomas Wilson at square-leg called and signalled a no-ball.

What happened after that was a disgrace to sports - especially to what many still refer to as the noble game.

Stuart Williams, moving from point with the ball in his hand, strolled across to the umpire and questioned the call. That was bad, but although Williams was the captain, probably not bad.

Ambrose, probably taking his cue from his captain, joined the action, gesticulated at the umpire, and according to Wilson, verbally abused him.

In my time of watching cricket I have never seen anything like that on a cricket field.

Ambrose always looks like a man who means business when he is walking back to his mark. On Saturday, he looked like a man going to war as he marched all the way from the top of his mark to the square-leg umpire. When he got there, he opened up at the umpire, who, from the distance of the pavilion, looked scared. It went on for a while.

Wilson reported what transpired to his colleague Eddie Nichols at the bowler's end, according to Wilson, Ambrose was warned for using indecent language, and he was later fined US$24 - representing 10 per cent of his match fee.

It was a show of total disrespect - not only for the umpire, but for the West Indies Board president, the selectors, the team manager, and senior officers of the sponsors who were all sitting in the pavilion. It was a moment when Wilson must have wished that, like football referees, he had the power to send the player off the field.

Wilson, unfortunately, did not have that power.

Fortunately, however, the West Indies Board has the authority to deal with anyone who embarrasses West Indies cricket, anyone who brings the game into disrepute, and regardless of how great he is and what he has done for West Indies cricket, Ambrose, a 35-year-old warrior who should know better, should not be allowed to get away with his distasteful behaviour with a simple fine.

Stars like Ambrose are role models, and what they do on the field often influences what others do - especially young players.

Regardless of whether Wilson's call was correct or not, the response by Ambrose was simply not cricket.

Source :: The Jamaica Gleaner (https://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/)