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
Curtly Ambrose suggested that the bowlers were tired and judged the team "outright failures". Following the World Cup, the West Indian selectors chose to rest Ambrose, along with Walsh, from alternate ODI tournaments. Ambrose consequently missed two ODI series, but in October 1999 he played two ODIs in a series against Bangladesh in Dhaka and three in a tournament in Sharjah. In the latter competition, Ambrose conceded five runs from ten overs against Sri Lanka, the second most economical bowling figures from a full allocation of 10 overs in all ODIs. However, in all five matches, he took just one wicket, and