Legendary former fast bowler, Sir Curtly Ambrose is advising the West Indies team to put aside the disappointment of missing out on next month’s ICC Champion Trophy and concentrate on returning to the top of the world.
The tournament, referred to as the mini World Cup, features the cricket world’s top eight teams, with West Indies missing out on the June 1-18 showpiece in England due to their lowly number nine ranking.
“It’s really a shame. It is sad. I never thought the time would come when we, as a West Indies team, would miss a Champion Trophy,” Sir Curtly told the Royal Gazette in Bermuda.
“It’s not a nice feeling at all, but that’s the way it is. We are not playing as well as we can so it’s up to us as a nation, and the cricketers themselves, to bring back this tradition we have to get West Indies cricket near the top,” he said.
The team was good enough to win the tournament back in 2004 in England, when it beat the host in a dramatic final at the Oval.
However, their fortunes have since declined steadily and they now also face the prospect of failing to qualify automatically for a chance at the remaining two spots.
Sir Curtly, who took 405 wickets from 98 Tests and 225 scalps from 176 ODIs, was up until last year served as a bowling consultant to the West Indies.
The West Indies team has lost five of their six ODIs, with five-match series against India and England to follow by the end of September.
