He made his debut for England in the Fifth Test against South Africa at The Oval on 17 August 1929, making a duck and taking two catches.

He holds a number of wicket-keeping and batting records: After his final playing season in 1951, Ames became a successful manager and administrator.

He managed MCC tours to the West Indies in 1967/68 when he deemed in his post-tour report that Basil D'Oliveira was a 'bad tourist' who did not adjust well to overseas conditions, spent much of his time partying, and generally detracted from team morale.

In August 1957, Ames formed an invitation team to play the touring West Indies at the Hastings Festival.

Ames' team included Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Jack Robertson, George Tribe and John Murray.

[14] His cricketing career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which Ames served with the Royal Air Force rising to the rank of Squadron Leader.