List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Curtly Ambrose

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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 as of October 2024, only 54 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]

Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain
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]
Symbol Meaning
Date Date the match was held, or starting date of the match for Test matches
Inn The innings of the match in which the five-wicket haul was taken
Overs Number of overs bowled in that innings
Runs Runs conceded
Wkts Number of wickets taken
Batsmen The batsmen whose wickets were taken in the five-wicket haul
Econ Bowling economy rate (average runs per over)
Result The 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
Drawn The match was drawn

Tests

Five-wicket hauls in Test cricket by Curtly Ambrose
No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Batsmen Result
12 December 1988WACA Ground, Perth Australia223.372 5 3.06 Won[12]
25 April 1990†‡Kensington Oval, Bridgetown England422.445 8 1.98 Won[14]
36 December 1990Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Pakistan22035 5 1.75 Drawn[21]
46 June 1991Headingley, Leeds England32852 6 1.85 Lost[22]
54 July 1991†Trent Bridge, Nottingham England13474 5 2.17 Won[23]
618 April 1992†[n 1]Kensington Oval, Bridgetown South Africa424.434 6 1.37 Won[24]
727 November 1992The Gabba, Brisbane Australia33266 5 2.06 Drawn[25]
823 January 1993†‡Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Australia228.274 6 2.61 Won[26]
930 January 1993†WACA Ground, Perth Australia11825 7 1.38 Won[27]
1025 March 1994*†‡Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain England22960 5 2.06 Won[15]
1125 March 1994*†‡Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain England41024 6 2.40 Won[15]
1221 April 1995†Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain Australia11645 5 2.81 Won[28]
1324 August 1995The Oval, London England14296 5 2.28 Drawn[29]
1427 April 1996Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's New Zealand23268 5 2.12 Drawn[30]
1526 December 1996†Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia124.555 5 2.21 Won[31]
161 February 1997†WACA Ground, Perth Australia11843 5 2.38 Won[32]
1714 March 1997Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain India241.487 5 2.08 Drawn[33]
1813 June 1997†Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's Sri Lanka113.137 5 2.81 Won[34]
195 February 1998†Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain England319.552 5 2.62 Won[35]
2013 February 1998Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain England215.425 5 1.59 Lost[36]
2110 December 1998St George's Oval, Port Elizabeth South Africa31951 6 2.68 Lost[37]
223 April 1999Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John's Australia129.594 5 3.15 Won[38]

One Day Internationals

Five-wicket hauls in ODI cricket by Curtly Ambrose
No. Date Ground Against Inn Overs Runs Wkts Econ Batsmen Result
115 December 1988†Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia28.217 5 2.04 Won[39]
214 January 1989Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia11026 5 2.60 Lost[40]
321 October 1991†Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah
(neutral venue)		 Pakistan11053 5 5.30 Lost[41]
416 January 1993†Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Australia29.332 5 3.36 Won[42]

Notes

References

External links

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