Curtly Ambrose match. West Indies were more successful in the World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which began in February. They reached the semi-finals, losing to Australia. Ambrose was man of the match with three for 28 in his team's opening match, and took ten wickets at 17.00 in the competition. He conceded an average of just three runs per over over the tournament, the second best among those who played in more than two games. In March, Ambrose played in a home series against New Zealand. In the five match ODI series, 10 wickets at 17.60, including four for
History of the West Indian cricket team against Durham, which improved upon Hanif Mohammad's thirty-five-year-old record as the highest score in first-class cricket. The West Indian bowling attack was spearheaded by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, the latter setting a then world record of 519 wickets. However, these two had both retired by 2001, and their successors failed to maintain the high standards that Ambrose and Walsh had set. Despite the emergence of some good batsmen like Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara remained the crucial figure of the side. After a 2–0 defeat by New Zealand in 1999–00, Lara was replaced as captain by Jimmy