How can Amby not be respected?

West Indies’ Chris Gayle hits a boundary during the second ODI against England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown in Barbados on February 22, 2019. Pic/AFP

Curtly talks to no man." It was a quote attributed to the great fast bowler himself that thwarted any attempts made by journalists to interview Ambrose in his playing days. Ambrose refrained from obliging journalists with interviews even when one of them approached his captain Viv Richards to coax his reticent pacer to open up in a chat. The answer was still a big No, as he revealed in his 2015 book, Time to Talk.

Ambrose is an antithesis of his playing career self in terms of talking in the media. He's still not easy to ‘get' nowadays but has agreed to the odd interview and has been heard on Caribbean television channels and radio stations. Recently, he opined that Chris Gayle is finished, something that the batting great took great offence to.

"I can tell you personally, and you can let him know that Chris Gayle, the Universe Boss, has no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever," Gayle said on radio during the Island Tea Morning Show recently.

Criticism from former players is more painful to deal with than some coming from reporters and columnists who have not played the game at a decent level. And that's why Gayle is probably so blue.

He's not the first cricketer to get slammed by a member of his fraternity and he won't be the last. With so many former stalwarts in the media, there will be a row every now and then.

Curtly Ambrose

Ambrose's fellow Antiguan knight, Richards, of all people, was at the receiving end of a player hit-back in 2012. After reaching his century against England in Birmingham, then West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin displayed a placard which said, ‘Yea Viv Talk Na.' This was in response to Richards's criticism of Ramdin. "When he first came into the game I felt he was a huge prospect. For some reason he has deteriorated in such a big way. Just the way he is walking back, he looks like a totally lost guy," opined the batting legend.

Never short of what constitutes tough talk, Richards reacted: "I'm here to do a job, there's no sentiment in it."

Actions like Ramdin's and words that Gayle recently used are distasteful. Sure, players are not expected to turn the other cheek. However, there are better ways of giving it back. How about saying, "I proved to him what I'm made up of" or "Hope he got the message now" or "Hope he was watching"?

Verbal exchanges are entertaining, eyeball-attracting, but there should be no place for disrespect to the former player's achievements. Gayle did that when he stressed he had, "no respect for Curtly Ambrose whatsoever."

For me, the more astounding part to Gayle's rebuttal to Ambrose was the fact that he used the words Universe Boss, which he is called and laps up with glee. Sir Garfield Sobers is universally and deservedly known as the greatest cricketer to have walked this earth. Yet, have you ever heard him even suggesting that he could be the greatest? Yes, Muhammad Ali called himself the greatest but Gayle is no Muhammad Ali.

We are not sure how closely Gayle followed Ambrose's career, but he was a damn fine bowler who could quite literally rip through the opposition. Surely, the spell in Perth on the 1992-93 tour of Australia and the one against England at Trinidad in 1994 are not isolated cases of Ambrose's brilliance and ferocity, but let's spell it out here. On Day One of the Test, Ambrose claimed seven wickets conceding only one run and his final analysis of 7-25 turned out to be the best by a West Indian against Australia. He bagged two wickets in the second innings while Ian Bishop claimed 6-40 and with it, West Indies clinched the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy. A year later, England smelt victory when they started their 194-run chase at Trinidad, but Ambrose's 6-24 saw Michael Atherton & Co bowled out for 46. Gayle was 14 years of age then and must have heard about it in his native Jamaica.

When Ambrose bid goodbye after 98 Tests, he had captured 405 wickets in a 12-year career and it's a great shame that Gayle has no respect for him "whatsoever."

Ambrose has pulled no punches while talking about the decline of West Indies cricket. Not long ago, he remarked that West Indies would never see "glory days" as witnessed when Clive Lloyd and Richards guided them. Not everyone agreed with Ambrose, but the man himself stuck to his guns, stressing that it will be extremely difficult to produce top quality players of the bygone era.

The fact that Gayle is an international cricketer and not a journalist, he stands a greater chance to sit down and chat with Ambrose once the T20 World Cup is over.

And by the way, Ambrose has clarified in his book that he wasn't the one who coined, "Curtly talks to no man."

mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello
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