How great a test bowler was Curtly Ambrose?Ahead of Wasim ,Hadlee and Mcgrath?

[Harsh Thakor]

					There could never be a more menacing sight in the game than Curtly Ambrose hurling down the wicket reminiscent of the fury of a greek God or hostility of a bomber plane.On his day Curtly could ground any batting line up to dust like a spear ripping through the ribcage of a body.Within no time he could initiate a batting collapse like nine pins rolling . Arguably no pace bowler was ever as accurate and relentless or more hostile at his best.He did not move the ball so much or was consistently tearaway fast but no bowler could create such awkward disconcerting bounce from a good length,or could send the stumps spreadeagling so frequently.On a broken wicket in the 4th Innings he did not have an equal and could create the sensation of dynamite exploding.No pacemen won so many games in a 4th innings or produced as many sensational spells.At Perth with 7-22 in 1993 and at Trinidad with 6-24 v England Ambrose took sustained pace bowling skill to metaphysical proportions,like an explosion out there in the middle.It was not wizardry or sheer speed but agression at it's greatest height like the power of a combustion engine.Batsmen were literally perplexed whether to play forwrad or back.His match winning 8-45 v England at Antigua in 1990 and 6-34 v South Africa at Barbados had similar overtones with controlled power executed ,like a mower shaving the grass of a lawn.The ecstasy on his face after a scalp would say it all. Ambrose best performer against the best and earlier 2nd best team of his time Australia.In 1992-93 he had a record haul for a West Indian of 33 scalps while topped the averages and most number of wickets in Australia in 1988-89.He played an important role in ressurecting his team to glory at Barbados in 1999 v Australia while also bowled a match wining spell at Melbourne in 1996-97. He hardly played on the sub-continent but was highly economical in 1990,though not successful in 1997.In England he was as economical as anyone on 3 succesive tours. What set Ambrose apart was his remarkable average in tests won of around 16,better than any bowling great of his time and the number of match-winning spells.He was more explosive than Glen Mcgrath who although more intelligent and crafty could not rip the heart out of side like Curtly.Richard Hadlee was not as volatile but in effect on a green top could match Ambrose.Hadlee had 15 more 5 wicket hauls than Ambrose and 4 more 10 wicket hauls.Both Hadlee and Mcgrath had a better strike rate of around 50-51 as compared to Curtly's 54.6.Still Ambrose had a better average of 20.99 as compared to 21.64 of Mcgrath and 22.29 of Hadlee's.Mcgrath had more craft than Curtly or Richard with more subtle changes of pace and deliveries and greater intelligence in judging weaknesses of oponents.Hadlee and Ambrose could be found wanting on flat tracks,unlike Mcgrath.Glen was not as sensational in single spells but in all conditions was more lethal. Ambrose had a better average,strike rate,match-winning average and best figures than Wasim but was overshadowed by Akram in peak era from 1990-98 .Wasim was much better on flat pancakes and overall had more 5 and 10wicket hauls.Wasim had a disadvantage of having to bowl so much on flat pancakes unlike Curtly who bowled most on the bouncy surfaces in West Indies and Australia.Ambrose had more top order scalps or those of the best batsmen than Curtly.However in general batsmen found Wasim a more daunting proposition.Ambrose was significantly better in terms of economy and marginally in in spells but overall it was still Wasim who could make the more crucial breakthroughs.-,with more craft and variations.South African batsmen ranked Wasim ahead overall,like Kallis. On a bad wicket Ambrose was the best of all,particularly in defending a score.In many ways he was a more improvised form of Joel Garner.However Curtly did not possess the repertoire of a Marshall,Wasim,or Lillee to conquer all conditions.Ambrose played for a top team for the 1st half of his career and a weak team for the latter part.Hadlee bore the brunt solely of a weak attack while Mcgrath played for waht was close to the strongest test side ever. Very hard who I would choose as a pure pace bowler in atest XI but it would depend on the conditions.On a green top Hadlee,on a broken wicket Ambrose ,on flat pancake Wasim and in ideal cricket conditions Mcgrath and Wasim..At his best at Lords in 2005 Mcgrath came closest to blowing perfection as the greatest ever being the exponent of every requirement for great pace bowling.On Australian tracks Ambrose would be my first choice with Hadlee a whisker behind.If a test was played in Australia Ambrose,Hadlee and Mcgrath may have had the edge over Wasim. Still it is Dennis Lillee who chose Ambrose as the most lethal paceman of his day.Australain batsmen found him equally challenging as Wasim like Waugh brothers,Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting.Howevever they did not face Mcgrath or Wasim enough on the sub-continent to make an accurate judgement. Thus Ambrose was the most lethal in favourable conditions but overall a whisker below Mcgrath,Hadlee and Wasim in my book. STATS BY S.RAJESH IN CRICINFO Best Test bowlers between Jan 1990 and Dec 1997 (Qual: 150 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM Wasim Akram 48 240 20.05 46.4 16/ 3 Curtly Ambrose 57 247 20.50 52.8 17/ 3 Waqar Younis 46 232 21.23 40.1 19/ 4 Allan Donald 36 171 23.27 48.8 9/ 2 Highest frequency of MoM awards in Tests (Qual: 10 awards) Player Tests MoM awards Tests per award Wasim Akram 104 17 6.12 Jacques Kallis 137 20 6.85 Muttiah Muralitharan 132 19 6.95 Curtly Ambrose 98 14 7.00 Imran Khan 88 11 8.00 Malcolm Marshall 81 10 8.10 Best bowling averages in Test wins (Qual: 200 wickets) Bowler Tests Wickets Average Strike rate 5WI/ 10WM Muttiah Muralitharan 53 430 16.03 42.6 40/ 18 Malcolm Marshall 43 254 16.78 38.1 17/ 4 Curtly Ambrose 44 229 16.86 44.4 13/ 3 Waqar Younis 39 222 18.20 35.0 14/ 4 Dennis Lillee 31 203 18.27 39.0 17/ 6 Shaun Pollock 49 223 18.30 47.5 9/ 1 Wasim Akram 41 211 18.48 42.3 13/ 2 Anil Kumble 43 288 18.75 44.4 20/ 5 Glenn McGrath 36 164 23.42 53.0 9/ 0 Shane Warne 62 289 24.08 62.9 12/ 3

Edited February 7, 2020 by Harsh Thakor

[zen]

As mentioned on one of the threads: my 4 AT world 11 bowlers in no particular order: 

 

* Marshall (premier test match bowler)

* Ambrose (great record vs strong teams. Can run through sides / change games.  Brilliant in the 4th inning)

* Hadlee (premier test match winner) .... Also one of the 4 great ARs of the 80s 

 

PS 4th bowler ->  Warne (premier test match spinner) 

Edited April 26, 2023 by zen

[Ankit_sharma03]

for me Mcgrath will always be the greatest, he had number on every top batsman of his time. He ll be the 1st name on my sheet 

[kohli]

19 minutes ago, Ankit_sharma03 said:

for me Mcgrath will always be the greatest, he had number on every top batsman of his time. He ll be the 1st name on my sheet 

Absolutely right 

[zen]

While Marshall is an extraordinary beast .... Hadlee, Ambrose, McGrath, Garner, etc., are relatively similar as bowlers in terms of effectiveness .... Hadlee can bat too (one of the 4 great ARs of the 80s) and also can be a one man army with the ball .... To complement Marshall-Hadlee, Ambrose works best for me. Has a great record vs top sides, can change games with a burst of quick wkts, and be double lethal in the 4th inning with Warne  

Edited February 7, 2020 by zen

[Vilander]

harris taukeer no matter how you try people wont accept Wasim was greater than any of the others you mentioned or plenty that you did not mention.

 

So yeah in this grp Wasim is out of place a bit.

[zen]

PS can't take it easy even if a team is chasing a relatively small total vs. Ambrose, who has done such things again and again: 

 

 

 

Ambrose is entertaining to watch. Made those WI vs Aus tests very interesting (worth following as some of the most intense cricket was played). Many times you would think the other team would win, only to discover that WI came back! .... When Ambrose was on song, batsmen got stuck on the crease as if they had seen a huge poisonous snake (and their feet were unable to move)

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by zen