OTD: Curtly Ambrose bowled second-most economical ten-over spell in 1999

It was on this day, October 13, in 1999, when West Indies legend Curtly Ambrose recorded the second most economical ten-over spell in ODIs. He achieved the feat in the first game of the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy 1999 between Sri Lanka and the West Indies in Sharjah.

Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya won the toss and chose to bat first. Marvan Atapattu and Jayasuriya opened the innings, adding 39 runs in the first 14 overs, restricted brilliantly by opponent bowlers Nixon McLean, Curtly Ambrose, and Mervyn Dillon.

Ambrose made life even more difficult for Sri Lanka openers, as Atapattu made 10 runs in 52 balls and the usually destructive Jayasuriya made 28 in 52 balls, as Ambrose snuffed out the life from the Lankan innings. Even Aravinda de Silva, could muster only 31 in 55 balls.

Romesh Kaluwitharana made 36 runs in 41 balls with three fours, as Sri Lanka only mustered 178 runs in 49.3 overs. Ambrose recorded the second most economical figures in ODI history, taking one wicket for five runs, bowling five maidens in his 10-over spell (10-5-5-1).

Jimmy Adams’ tenacious unbeaten 74, for which he was named Player-of-the-Match, helped the West Indies easily surpass the total with three wickets in hand and with four balls remaining.

The record for the most economical 10-over bowling spell in ODIs belongs to Ambrose’s West Indies teammate and former coach Phil Simmons. Simmons had the bowling figures of 10-8-3-4 (8 maidens, three runs, and four wickets) in the 8th match of the 1992 Benson and Hedges World Series between West Indies and Pakistan in Sydney.

However, this was not the first time Ambrose made news for giving out nothing at all with the ball. Ambrose played a key role in the West Indies’ victory over Australia at the WACA six years prior, which ended up being one of their most memorable Test matches. At one point, Australia was 85/2, but Ambrose’s burst of seven wickets for one run in 32 balls had them bowled out for 119.

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