Curtly Ambrose tournament that took place during the tour, West Indies defeated Australia in the final; Ambrose took 21 wickets in the series and twice took five wickets in an innings. Suffering from fatigue and illness, Ambrose was less successful later in 1989 when India toured the West Indies: he took just five wickets in the four-Test series at an average of 54.60. Ambrose made his debut in the English County Championship for Northamptonshire County Cricket Club in 1989—the club signed him for the 1988 season but as he was playing in the West Indies touring team, he was unavailable that year.
Curtly Ambrose following year. A Viv Richards scholarship provided funding for him to play club cricket in England for Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club in the highly rated Liverpool Competition during 1986 where he took 84 wickets at an average of 9.80. The following year, he returned to England to play for Heywood Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League, for whom he took 115 wickets in the season; these experiences helped to improve his bowling technique. Upon his return to Antigua, Ambrose practised intensely, regained his place in the Leeward Islands team and, in the absence of leading bowlers Winston Benjamin