List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Curtly Ambrose

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]

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

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]

Key

The Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, where Ambrose took six Test five-wicket hauls, the most by any player at the ground.[20]
SymbolMeaning
DateDate the match was held, or starting date of the match for Test matches
InnThe innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken
OversNumber of overs bowled in that innings
RunsRuns conceded
WktsNumber of wickets taken
BatsmenThe batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul
EconBowling economy rate (average runs per over)
ResultThe result for the West Indies team in that match
*One of two five-wicket hauls by Ambrose in a match
Ambrose selected as "Man of the match"
10 wickets or more taken in the match
DrawnThe match was drawn

Tests

Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Curtly Ambrose
No.DateGroundAgainstInnOversRunsWktsEconBatsmenResult
12 December 1988WACA Ground, Perth  Australia223.37253.06Won[12]
25 April 1990†‡Kensington Oval, Bridgetown  England422.44581.98Won[14]
36 December 1990Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore  Pakistan2203551.75Drawn[21]
46 June 1991Headingley, Leeds  England3285261.85Lost[22]
54 July 1991Trent Bridge, Nottingham  England1347452.17Won[23]
618 April 1992[n 1]Kensington Oval, Bridgetown  South Africa424.43461.37Won[24]
727 November 1992The Gabba, Brisbane  Australia3326652.06Drawn[25]
823 January 1993†‡Adelaide Oval, Adelaide  Australia228.27462.61Won[26]
930 January 1993WACA Ground, Perth  Australia1182571.38Won[27]
1025 March 1994*†‡Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  England2296052.06Won[15]
1125 March 1994*†‡Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  England4102462.40Won[15]
1221 April 1995Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  Australia1164552.81Won[28]
1324 August 1995The Oval, London  England1429652.28Drawn[29]
1427 April 1996Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's  New Zealand2326852.12Drawn[30]
1526 December 1996Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne  Australia124.55552.21Won[31]
161 February 1997WACA Ground, Perth  Australia1184352.38Won[32]
1714 March 1997Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  India241.48752.08Drawn[33]
1813 June 1997Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's  Sri Lanka113.13752.81Won[34]
195 February 1998Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  England319.55252.62Won[35]
2013 February 1998Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain  England215.42551.59Lost[36]
2110 December 1998St George's Oval, Port Elizabeth  South Africa3195162.68Lost[37]
223 April 1999Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's  Australia129.59453.15Won[38]

One Day Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in ODI cricket by Curtly Ambrose
No.DateGroundAgainstInnOversRunsWktsEconBatsmenResult
115 December 1988Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne  Australia28.21752.04Won[39]
214 January 1989Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne  Australia1102652.60Lost[40]
321 October 1991Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah
(neutral venue)
 Pakistan1105355.30Lost[41]
416 January 1993Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney  Australia29.33253.36Won[42]

Notes

References

External links