List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Curtly Ambrose

A head and shoulder shoot of Curtly Ambrose
Curtly Ambrose has taken the most five-wicket hauls for the West Indies.[1]

Curtly Ambrose, a former West Indian cricketer, took 26 five-wicket hauls at international level.[2][3] In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer"[4]) refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement,[5] and only 41 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.[3] Ambrose played 98 Tests and 176 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and took 405 and 225 wickets respectively.[2] A right-arm fast bowler who represented the West Indies from 1988 to 2000, he took 22 five-wicket hauls in Tests and 4 in ODIs.[6][7] The cricket almanack Wisden noted his "smooth, leggy run-up, fast arm action and accuracy", apart from "lethal yorker[s]" and "nasty bouncer[s]", and named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1992.[8] Upon his induction into the International Cricket Council Cricket Hall of Fame in September 2011, ESPNcricinfo described Ambrose as "one of the finest bowlers of all time",[9][10] and as of 2013 he is tenth overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.[3]

Ambrose made his Test debut in 1988 against Pakistan at the Bourda, Georgetown, a match the West Indies lost by 9 wickets.[11] His first five-wicket haul came eight months later against Australia at the WACA Ground, Perth; West Indies won the match by 169 runs.[12] His career-best bowling figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 45 runs against England at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, in April 1990 where his match-winning performance earned him a man of the match award.[13][14] Ambrose took his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls in a Test match—5 wickets for 60 runs and 6 wickets for 24 runs—against the same opponents at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, in March 1994, his best bowling performance in a Test match.[2][15] Ambrose achieved his 22 five-wicket hauls at 12 different grounds, including 11 at 9 different venues outside the West Indies.[13][16] He was most successful against Australia and England taking eight five-wicket hauls each.[13] He took ten or more wickets in a match on three occasions.[17]

Ambrose made his ODI debut against Pakistan at the Sabina Park, Kingston, in March 1988.[18] His first five-wicket haul in this format came later that year against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he took 5 wickets for 17 runs in the match, his best performance in ODI matches.[19] Ambrose took three of his four one-day five-wicket hauls against Australia and one against Pakistan.[19] As of 2013, he is joint tenth—with Dale Steyn—overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.[3]

  1. ^ "Records / West Indies / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Curtly Ambrose". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d "Records / Combined Test, ODI and T20I records / Bowling records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Swinging it for the Auld Enemy – An interview with Ryan Sidebottom". The Scotsman. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2013. ... I'd rather take fifers (five wickets) for England ...
  5. ^ Pervez, M. A. (2001). A Dictionary of Cricket. Orient Blackswan. p. 31. ISBN 978-81-7370-184-9. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records – Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  7. ^ "One-Day Internationals: Bowling Records / Most five-wickets-in-an-innings in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Wisden:Cricketer of the year 1992 – Curtly Ambrose". Wisden. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  9. ^ Bagchi, Rob (13 September 2011). "How Curtly Ambrose, West Indies' silent assassin, became a big noise". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  10. ^ ESPNcricinfo, Staff (12 September 2011). "ICC news: Ambrose makes it into ICC Hall of Fame". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  11. ^ "Pakistan tour of West Indies, 1987/88: Test series – 1st Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  12. ^ "Australia tour of West Indies, 1988/89: The Frank Worrell Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  13. ^ a b c "Statistics / Statsguru / Curtly Ambrose / Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  14. ^ "England tour of West Indies, 1989/90: The Wisden Trophy – 2nd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  15. ^ "England tour of West Indies, 1993/94: The Wisden Trophy – 3rd Test". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  16. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Curtley Ambrose / Test matches / Five-wicket hauls at venues outside West Indies". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Most ten-wickets-in-a-match in a career". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Pakistan tour of West Indies, 1987/88: ODI series – 1st ODI". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Statistics / Statsguru / Curtly Ambrose / One Day Internationals". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.