PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Fast bowling legend, Sir Curtly Ambrose, has blasted Caribbean pitches as “terrible” and believes they were behind the regional side's poor showing on the recent tour of New Zealand.
The Antiguan said the region needed to resort to the type of pitches which produced the outstanding players of the past and propelled West Indies to the pinnacle of world cricket.
“We need to get back to the days when we were the best team in the world where we had good cricket pitches, where there is a little bit in it for the fast-bowlers, a bit for the spinners and if you're a good enough batsman, you can score runs,” Sir Curtly told Guardian Media here.
“The pitches in the Caribbean are terrible and that's why when we go overseas and the pitches are bouncing, the players are all at sea. We need to get back quick, bouncy pitches in the Caribbean. It will make better players and fast-bowlers.”
Windies batsmen struggled against the short ball on the bouncy pitches in New Zealand and failed to win a single match in the series.
They were whitewashed in the two-match Test series and the subsequent three-match one-day series, before losing two of the three Twenty20s. The second match was washed out.
“I didn't watch much of it (tour). It is too painful to watch,” said Sir Curtly, who served as West Indies bowling coach until being replaced 19 months ago.
“It's been a disastrous tour and nothing really went well. I'm just hoping that the players and the coaching staff can go back to the drawing board, do some soul searching and figure out a way to start winning.”
He added: “It is not so much about coaching, in my opinion, because the guys have got the skills. We just need the coaching staff to instil certain discipline, and passion and pride and commitment in order to get results.”
Sir Curtly grabbed 405 wickets in 98 Tests before quitting international cricket 18 years ago.
We have a large database of Guyanese worldwide. Most of our readers are in the USA, Canada, and the UK. Our Blog and Newsletter would not only carry articles and videos on Guyana, but also other articles on a wide range of subjects that may be of interest to our readers in over 200 countries, many of them non-Guyanese We hope that you like our selections.
It is estimated that over one million Guyanese, when counting their dependents, live outside of Guyana. This exceeds the population of Guyana, which is now about 750,000. Many left early in the 50’s and 60’s while others went with the next wave in the 70’s and 80’s. The latest wave left over the last 20 years. This outflow of Guyanese, therefore, covers some three generations. This outflow still continues today, where over 80 % of U.G. graduates now leave after graduating. We hope this changes, and soon.
Guyanese, like most others, try to keep their culture and pass it on to their children and grandchildren. The problem has been that many Guyanese have not looked back, or if they did it was only fleetingly. This means that the younger generations and those who left at an early age know very little about Guyana since many have not visited the country. Also, if they do get information about Guyana, it is usually negative and thus the cycle of non-interest is cultivated.
This Guyana Diaspora Online Forum , along with its monthly newsletter, aims at bringing Guyanese together to support positive news, increase travel and tourism in Guyana and, in general, foster the birth of a new Guyana, which has already begun notwithstanding the negative news that grabs the headlines. As the editor and manager of the publication, I am committed to delivering Blog entries and Newsletters that are politically balanced, and focused on the positive ideas we wish to share and foster among Guyanese.
|