Curtly Ambrose there were rumours he planned to retire. He played in three times in the five-match ODI series, taking two wickets, and took a further two wickets in the first Test, which West Indies won. In "Wisden", Alan Lee described his performances at this time as "lethargic", and in the "Guardian", Paul Allott wrote that he bowled "like a shadow" owing to the effects of continuous cricket. Ambrose was ineffective at the start of the second Test, but recovered, ending the match with eight wickets; according to Lee, he "struck the critical blows of the match" in the first innings. In
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