Curtly Ambrose from a verbal confrontation with Steve Waugh by the captain, Richardson. But outside of this match, the Australian team judged his bowling to have declined in pace following his shoulder injury, and that he lacked the variety to adapt to a different role. The West Indies' cricket manager, former Test bowler Andy Roberts, publicly claimed during the series that several of his team possessed "attitude problems", and complained that the fast bowlers would not follow his advice. During the tour of England which followed, Ambrose did not take a wicket in the three-match ODI series; according to journalist Simon Barnes,
Curtly Ambrose height of . Around this time, his mother encouraged him to become more involved in cricket. Success as a fast bowler in a softball cricket match persuaded Ambrose to play in some club matches at the age of 20. He quickly attracted the attention of coaches and progressed to the St John's cricket team. Selected in the Leeward Islands competition, he took seven for 67 (seven wickets for 67 runs) for Antigua against St Kitts. He made his first-class debut for the Leeward Islands in 1985–86 and took four wickets in the game, but failed to retain his place the