Editing Curtly Ambrose (section)

==Apparent decline==

===Shoulder injury===
Ambrose's shoulder injury, caused by his bowling workload,<ref name=Selvey95>{{Cite news | last = Selvey |first = Mike |title = Ambrose tilts the balance | newspaper = The Guardian | location = London  | page = 24 | date = 25 August 1995}}</ref> caused him to miss the West Indies' tour of India in the last three months of 1994.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Mohan | first = R|title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1996 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = The West Indians in India, 1994–95| location = London| isbn = 0-947766-31-6| pages = 1,049–62}}</ref> Although he returned to join the tour of New Zealand in early 1995, he did not reach his full bowling pace; he took one wicket in the ODI series and five in the two Test matches.<ref name=figures/><ref>{{Cite book | last = Power | first = Terry|title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1996 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = The West Indians in India, 1994–95| location = London| isbn = 0-947766-31-6| page = 1,096}}</ref> He remained in the team when Australia toured the Caribbean later in 1995; the West Indies lost the Test series 2–1, their first defeat in a Test series since 1980.<ref>Craddock, p. 1,120.</ref> After taking two wickets in four ODIs,<ref>Craddock, pp. 1,124–28.</ref> Ambrose took 13 wickets at 19.84 in the four-Test series to lead the West Indian averages.<ref>Craddock, p. 1,123.</ref> He took nine of these wickets in Trinidad during the third Test, when West Indies levelled the series having lost the first Test (the second was drawn).<ref>Craddock, pp. 1,130–34.</ref> Bowling on a pitch that was extremely difficult for batting, and which both teams considered to be unsatisfactory, Ambrose took nine for 65 in the match and was named man of the match. During the game, Ambrose had to be pulled away from a verbal confrontation with [[Steve Waugh]] by the captain, Richardson.<ref>Craddock, p. 1,134.</ref> But outside of this match, the Australian team judged his bowling to have declined in pace following his shoulder injury, and that he lacked the variety to adapt to a different role.<ref>Craddock, p. 1,122.</ref> The West Indies' cricket manager, former Test bowler [[Andy Roberts (cricketer)|Andy Roberts]], publicly claimed during the series that several of his team possessed "attitude problems", and complained that the fast bowlers would not follow his advice.<ref>Cozier (1996), p. 339.</ref>

During the tour of England which followed, Ambrose did not take a wicket in the three-match ODI series; according to journalist Simon Barnes, both Ambrose and the team lacked confidence following their defeat by Australia; he lacked rhythm and displayed signs of frustration and unhappiness.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Barnes |first = Simon |title = Ambrose troubled by demons of doubt| newspaper = The Times  | location = London  | page = 24 | date = 29 May 1995}}</ref> He was more effective in the Test series, and according to Tony Cozier in ''Wisden'', "was always captable of a spell of incisive, quality bowling".<ref name=Cozier343>Cozier (1996), p. 343.</ref> But he was affected by injury throughout the six-match series; he withdrew injured from the third Test having bowled fewer than eight overs and missed the fifth Test completely.<ref name=Cozier343/> Other bowlers in the team overshadowed Ambrose, and it was not until the final Test that he reached his most effective form in taking five for 96 in the first innings and seven wickets in the match.<ref name=Selvey95/><ref name=6T95>Lee, Alan, in Cozier (1996), pp. 380–82.</ref> Waving to the crowd as he left the field on the final day with an injury, Ambrose seemed to indicate that he would not tour England again.<ref name=Cozier343/><ref name=6T95/> He ended the series third in the bowling averages with 21 wickets at 24.09.<ref>Cozier (1995), p. 347.</ref> But according to Cozier, the senior players in the team caused problems for the management, and when the players returned home, Ambrose and three other members of the team were fined 10 per cent of their tour fee—in Ambrose's case, the fine was for "general failings of behaviour and attitude",<ref>Cozier (1996), p. 341.</ref> and setting a bad example to younger team-mates.<ref>{{Cite news |title = W Indies quartet fined for breaches of discipline | newspaper = The Times  | location = London  | page = 44 | date = 24 November 1995}}</ref>

Along with other senior players, Ambrose was rested from West Indies' next tour, an ODI tournament in October 1995,<ref>{{Cite book |title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = Singer Champions Trophy, 1995–96 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| page = 1,155}}</ref> but he returned to play in a three-team ODI tournament in Australia in December and January.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = The West Indians in Australia, 1995–96 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| pages = 1,132–33}}</ref> However, affected by the refusal of [[Brian Lara]] to tour following after being fined for his behaviour during the tour of England, the team failed to qualify for the final.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = Benson and Hedges World Series, 1995–96 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| page = 1,161}}</ref> Ambrose took ten wickets in the tournament, and took three wickets in consecutive innings; in the latter game, he was man of the match.<ref>{{Cite book |title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = Benson and Hedges World Series, 1995–96 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| pages = 1,164–66}}</ref> West Indies were more successful in the [[1996 Cricket World Cup|World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka]] which began in February. They reached the semi-finals, losing to Australia.<ref name=Lee97>Lee (1997), p. 1,018.</ref> Ambrose was man of the match with three for 28 in his team's opening match,<ref name=Lee97/> and took ten wickets at 17.00 in the competition. He conceded an average of just three runs per over for the tournament, the second best among those who played in more than two games.<ref>{{cite web|title=Records: Wills World Cup, 1995/96: Best economy rates| url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/bowling/best_career_economy_rate.html?id=722;type=tournament |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=18 September 2012}}</ref> In March, Ambrose played in a home series against [[New Zealand national cricket team|New Zealand]]. In the five match ODI series, 10 wickets at 17.60, including four for 36 in the opening game.<ref name=ODI/><ref name=figures/> He took eight wickets in the two-Test series at an average of 20.50, leading the team averages,<ref>{{Cite book | last = Cameron | first = D. J. | title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = The New Zealanders in the West Indies, 1995–96 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| page = 1,144}}</ref> and took five for 68 in the second match.<ref name=figures/> During the English cricket season, he returned to Northamptonshire and took 43 wickets in nine games to lead the national bowling averages, but he missed several matches with recurring injuries and his contract was not renewed for the following year. He was replaced by the much younger [[Mohammad Akram (cricketer, born 1974)|Mohammad Akram]] as overseas player.<ref>{{Cite book | last = Radd | first = Andrew | title = Wisden Cricketers' Almanack| year = 1997 | editor-last=Engel | editor-first=Matthew| publisher = John Wisden & Co| chapter = Northamptonshire in 1996 | location = London| isbn = 0-947766-38-3| page = 579}}</ref>

===Team in decline===
Following Australia's victory in 1994–95, when West Indies toured Australia in 1996–97 the series was heavily publicised as a re-match. However, the visiting team were often ineffective, continuing a trend of decline, and depended heavily on their senior players, one of whom was Ambrose. He began the series poorly, continuing a pattern established in several preceding series, and critics suggested that he was no longer effective.<ref name =B63>Baum, p. 1,063–64.</ref> After taking only three wickets in the first two Tests, both of which were lost by West Indies,<ref name=figures/> Ambrose told his team-mates that he would take ten wickets in the third. On a difficult pitch for batting, he managed to take nine in the match, including three in the first hour of the game, despite struggling with a hamstring injury. West Indies won, and Ambrose was named man of the match,<ref>Baum, p. 1,072.</ref> but he missed the fourth Test with an injury. Writing in ''Wisden'', Greg Baum suggested that Ambrose absence possibly affected the outcome of the series; Australia won easily to ensure they won the series.<ref name=B63/> Ambrose returned for the final match, and on another difficult batting pitch, took five for 43 on the first day. West Indies won and Ambrose was again man of the match.<ref>Baum, p. 1,075.</ref> He led the West Indies bowling averages with 19 wickets at 23.36,<ref>Baum, p. 1,066.</ref> but had been the driving factor in West Indies' two wins.<ref name=B63/> Ambrose also played in an ODI tournament during the tour of Australia, taking nine wickets at 27.33.<ref name=ODI/> Later in the season, between March and May 1997, India toured West Indies; Ambrose took ten wickets at 30.10 in the Test series, including five for 87 in the second Test, but was no longer the home team's most effective bowler.<ref name=figures/><ref>Cozier (1998), pp. 1,111–12.</ref> Then in June, [[Sri Lanka national cricket team|Sri Lanka]] played a two-Test series, won 1–0 by West Indies. In the first, Ambrose took five for 37 in the first innings, and eight wickets in the game, to be named man of the match. This included his 300th wicket in Test matches; he was the 12th bowler, and fourth West Indian, to reach this landmark.<ref>Cozier, pp. 1,131–32.</ref> Ambrose also played five ODIs during the West Indies home season, taking nine wickets.<ref name=ODI/>

West Indies' loss of form continued in late 1997 when they lost every international match during their tour of Pakistan.<ref name=Pak97>Mohammed, pp. 1,094–95.</ref> Ambrose played in two out of West Indies' three matches in an ODI tournament, taking one wicket,<ref name=ODI/> but his performance in taking one wicket in the two Test matches he played—he missed the third match with injury—prompted Fazeer Mohammed, writing in ''Wisden'', to describe Ambrose as "a shadow of his former self".<ref name=Pak97/> Any danger that Ambrose might have retired after this series was forestalled when [[Brian Lara]] was appointed West Indies captain and immediately spoke to Ambrose and Walsh to ask them to continue in the team.<ref>Berry, p. 1,023.</ref> When England toured the West Indies between January and April 1998,<ref name=figures/> he took 30 wickets at 14.26 to top the bowling averages for the series.{{#tag:ref|The first Test was abandoned owing to dangerous playing conditions—the pitch was judged unfit for cricket.<ref name=B1022>Berry (1999), p. 1,022.</ref>|group=note}}<ref>Berry (1999), p. 1,027.</ref> Many of the pitches during the tour were poor for batting, but Ambrose was very effective, particularly in the second, third and fourth Tests. In addition, he dismissed [[Mike Atherton]], the England captain, six times in the series. Scyld Berry wrote in ''Wisden'' that Ambrose was "back to something near his peak form&nbsp;... [He] defied every prediction that he was finished after his tour of Pakistan."<ref name=B1022/> In the second Test, Ambrose took eight wickets; he conceded only 23 runs from 26 overs in the first innings and bowled a spell of five wickets for 16 runs from 47 deliveries in the second to complete figures of five for 52.<ref>Marks, Vic in Berry (1999), pp. 1,034–35.</ref> Having won the second match, West Indies lost the third, but according to [[Matthew Engel]], "Ambrose's abiding power was the most constant feature of a fluctuating match".<ref name=3T98>Engel, Matthew in Berry (1999), pp. 1,037–38.</ref> His eight wickets in the game, including five for 25 in the first innings, took him past fifty Test wickets in Trinidad.<ref name=3T98/> He followed up with six wickets in West Indies victory in the fourth Test, taking four for 38 in the final innings. Tony Cozier wrote that Ambrose "thundered in, arms and knees pumping like pistons, to generate all of his old pace."<ref>Cozier, Tony in Berry (1998), pp. 1,041–42.</ref> Following the Test series, which West Indies won 3–1, Ambrose played in the first three matches of the ODI series,<ref>Berry (1999), pp. 1,048–52.</ref> and took three wickets.<ref name=ODI/>