Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose, KCN (born 21 September 1963) is a former cricketer from Antigua who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies. A fast bowler, he took 405 Test wickets at an average of 20.99 and topped the ICC Player Rankings for much of his career to be rated the best bowler in the world. His great height—he is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall—allowed him to make the ball bounce unusually high after he delivered it; allied to his pace and accuracy, it made him a difficult bowler for batsmen to face. A man of few words during his career, he was notoriously reluctant to speak to journalists. He was chosen as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992; after he retired he was entered into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame and selected as one of West Indies all-time XI by a panel of experts.

Sir Curtly Ambrose
KCN

Personal information
Full name	Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose
Born	(1963-09-21) 21 September 1963 (age 54) Swetes, Antigua and Barbuda
Height	6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Batting	Left-handed batsman
Bowling	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	West Indies
Test debut (cap 192)	2 April 1988 v Pakistan
Last Test	31 August 2000 v England
ODI debut (cap 53)	12 March 1988 v Pakistan
Last ODI	23 April 2000 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1985–2000	Leeward Islands
1998–1999	Antigua and Barbuda
1989–1996	Northamptonshire
Career statistics
Competition Tests ODI FC List A Matches 98 176 239 329 Runs scored 1439 639 3448 1282 Batting average 12.40 10.65 13.95 11.98 100s/50s 0/1 0/0 0/4 0/0 Top score 53 31* 78 48 Balls bowled 22103 9353 48798 17143 Wickets 405 225 941 401 Bowling average 20.99 24.12 20.24 23.83 5 wickets in innings 22 4 50 4 10 wickets in match 3 n/a 8 n/a Best bowling 8/45 5/17 8/45 5/17 Catches/stumpings 18/0 45/0 88/0 82/0
Source: Cricinfo, 24 October 2012

Born in Swetes, Antigua, Ambrose came to cricket at a relatively late age, having preferred basketball in his youth, but quickly made an impression as a fast bowler. Progressing through regional and national teams, he was first chosen for the West Indies in 1988. He was almost immediately successful and remained in the team until his retirement in 2000. On many occasions, his bowling was responsible for the West Indies winning matches which seemed lost, particularly in association with Courtney Walsh. Against Australia in 1993, he took seven wickets while conceding a single run; in 1994 he was largely responsible for bowling England out for 46 runs, taking six for 24 (six wickets for 24 runs).

Ambrose's bowling method relied on accuracy and conceding few runs; several of his best performances came when he took wickets in quick succession to devastate the opposition. He was particularly successful against leading batsmen. From 1995, Ambrose was increasingly affected by injury, and several times critics claimed that he was no longer effective. However, he continued to take wickets regularly up until his retirement, although he was sometimes less effective in the early matches of a series. In his final years, the West Indies team was in decline and often relied heavily on Ambrose and Walsh; both men often bowled with little support from the other bowlers. Following his retirement, Ambrose has pursued a career in music as the bass guitarist in a reggae band.