Sir Curtly Elconn Lynwall Ambrose KCN (born 21 September 1963) is an Antiguan former cricketer who played 98 Test matches for the West Indies.

His great height—he is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall—allowed him to make the ball bounce unusually high after he delivered it; allied to his pace and accuracy, it made him a very difficult bowler for batsmen to face.

Born in Swetes, Antigua, Ambrose came to cricket at a relatively late age, having preferred basketball in his youth, but quickly made an impression as a fast bowler.

In his final years, the West Indies team was in decline and often relied heavily on Ambrose and Walsh; both men often bowled with little support from the other bowlers.

The following year, he returned to England to play for Heywood Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, for whom he took 115 wickets in the season; these experiences helped to improve his bowling technique.

[6] When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, Ambrose played in the One Day International (ODI) series, taking the place of the recently retired Joel Garner.

[11] Writing in Wisden, commentator Tony Cozier described Ambrose as "a ready-made replacement for Garner"; the amount of bounce he generated after the ball pitched "made him a constant menace".

Writing in Wisden, John Woodcock noted: "As in England, earlier in 1988, Ambrose's bowling was a telling factor ... [His] advance compensated for something of a decline in [Malcolm] Marshall's effectiveness".

[13] Suffering from fatigue and illness,[19] Ambrose was less successful later in 1989 when India toured the West Indies: he took just five wickets in the four-Test series at an average of 54.60.

[29] West Indies toured Pakistan in late 1990, and Ambrose topped the team's bowling averages in a three-match series which was drawn 1–1.

[37] Berry suggests that West Indies may have won the series had Viv Richards used a different tactical approach with Ambrose's bowling.

Berry describes "Ambrose's rise to the status of a giant—with the mannerism of celebrating each wicket by whirling his arms upwards, like a flock of doves taking to the air.

The citation remarked on his consistency and stated: "Ambrose has the ability to exert a debilitating psychological influence which so often precipitates a cluster of wickets after the initial breach has been made ...

"[4] The West Indies wicket-keeper, Jeff Dujon, said: "He is mature beyond his years, has pace, accuracy, heart and determination, plus, importantly, real pride in economical figures.

Hampered by a knee injury, which necessitated surgery after the English season, and suffering from many dropped catches, he took 50 first-class wickets at an average of 26.14, but his performance compared unfavourably with other bowlers on the team.

According to Cozier, the captains of both teams, Richie Richardson and Allan Border, "paid tribute to the man who made the result possible: Ambrose consolidated his reputation as the world's leading bowler".

[54] Having developed a slower ball, and using the yorker more sparingly,[55] Ambrose took five wickets in three games as West Indies won an ODI tournament in Sharjah in late October and November 1993.

[13][57] Immediately following this, West Indies toured Sri Lanka to play three ODIs and a Test, a rain-ruined match in which Ambrose took three wickets.

[13][61] In Wisden, Alan Lee described his performances at this time as "lethargic",[62] and in the Guardian, Paul Allott wrote that he bowled "like a shadow" owing to the effects of continuous cricket.

According to Andrew Radd in Wisden, the club were mollified by his success, but he wrote: "Rarely in Northamptonshire's history have the performances and the personality of one cricketer dominated a season to the extent that Curtly Ambrose did in 1994.

[72] Although he returned to join the tour of New Zealand in early 1995, he did not reach his full bowling pace; he took one wicket in the ODI series and five in the two Test matches.

[78] But outside of this match, the Australian team judged his bowling to have declined in pace following his shoulder injury, and that he lacked the variety to adapt to a different role.

[16] During the English cricket season, he returned to Northamptonshire and took 43 wickets in nine games to lead the national bowling averages, but he missed several matches with recurring injuries and his contract was not renewed for the following year.

[113] He was ineffective in the third Test,[114] and despite bowling what Geoffrey Dean in Wisden called a "superb opening spell", could not prevent South Africa building up a large total against an attack lacking two other main bowlers.

The outcome of the series was decided by a small group of players, including Ambrose, whom Mike Coward described in Wisden as "five of the most distinguished cricketers of all time".

[13] The following month, Ambrose took part in the 1999 World Cup in England, and he was the second most economical bowler in the tournament in conceding an average 2.35 runs per over while taking seven wickets at 13.42.

[123] West Indies went out in the group stages, and Matthew Engel suggested that the bowlers were tired and judged the team "outright failures".

[126] However, in all five matches, he took just one wicket,[13] and he injured his elbow in Sharjah which forced him to miss West Indies' tour of New Zealand which began in December.

[144] Ambrose was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Nation (KCN) by the Antiguan Barbudan government on 28 February 2014, alongside Richardson and Andy Roberts.

[148] Ambrose rarely engaged in verbal sparring with batsmen, although in later years he occasionally inspected the pitch in an area close to the batsman before an innings began and rubbed his hands to suggest that he would enjoy bowling there.