Curtly Ambrose, one of the world’s most famous cricketers, has spoken about the state of the game in the West Indies while in Bermuda this week.

Ambrose was on island thanks to CG Insurance’s sponsorship of the Bermuda Smash Invitational and attended the final on Sunday.

He also gave a speech to the island’s seniors at St Paul AME Church on Monday, when he emphasised the importance of proper nutrition, exercise and rest before fielding questions from the audience, which included former St David’s all-rounder Arthur Pitcher, who played against Sir Vivian Richards’s Antigua side that toured Bermuda in the mid-1980s.

Wherever Ambrose goes, the state of West Indies cricket is brought up. Despite being crowned T20 world champions twice since the fast bowler retired in 2000 with 405 Test and 225 one-day international wickets under his belt, they have been unable to sustain the level of consistency and competitiveness that became their trademark during a dominant era in the late 20th century.

“It’s very, very difficult because coming from West Indies we are so accustomed to winning and every time we turn up to play everyone expects us to win,” Ambrose told The Royal Gazette.

“Sadly, it’s not that any more and for me it’s really tough because I am so accustomed to see us winning and ruling the world.

“Every team in world sport goes through a phase where you lose great players and then you rebuild and become a dominant force again, but sadly for about two decades we are really struggling and can’t seem to get out of that deep hole.

“It’s really frustrating for me as a former cricketer and hard to watch our beloved West Indies team not in the top three in the world. Everywhere I go people ask me the same question, ‘When is West Indies team coming back?

“We played a different kind of cricket back then, exciting, and people loved that. We still have some exciting players now, but sadly we can’t string enough victories together and that’s frustrating to watch and really sad.”

Ambrose partly attributes West Indies’ demise from players now placing priority on competing in lucrative T20 leagues over representing their country.

“Lots of players today are gravitating towards T20 cricket because it’s lucrative,” he said.

“You can’t really blame the players because one injury can end your career, so I have no problems with players trying to make themselves financially secure for the future, but at the same time representing your country should be top priority so you must try and find a balance.

“Most players today just gravitate towards T20 franchises and can’t be bothered with Test cricket, but it’s just the way of the world.”

While Ambrose accepts that players have a right to choose whether to play for their country or not, he strongly opposes rule changes in the modern game which he feels puts bowlers at a disadvantage.

“Cricket nowadays is predominantly for the batters,” he said.

“When I played it was more of an even contest between bat and ball. Now because of the advent of T20 cricket, it’s more batting-friendly and the bowlers suffer quite a bit

“There is no better spectacle than a great fast bowler versus a great batsman. That’s excitement, but now everyone wants to see sixes and fours, and that is not good competition.”

Ambrose takes tremendous pride in West Indies’ rich legacy that inspired him to bring his “A” game every single time he represented them.

“The West Indies have this rich legacy and when Sir Vivian Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Jeff Dujon and Malcolm Marshall left, we wanted to continue that tradition of West Indies cricket for as long as we could,” he said.

“Then I retired in 2000 and my good friend Courtney Walsh left in 2001, and since then we’ve been going downhill. We still can’t seem to get out of that deep hole and I don’t think in my lifetime we’ll ever see those glory years again in West Indies cricket.

“Having said that, I still believe that if you put certain things in place and get certain personnel involved, especially past greats to help nurture this young talent, we can get back to our competitive ways and be a force again in world cricket. But some things have to change.”

Not only did Ambrose do his part in preserving West Indies’ proud legacy during his glorious and highly successful career, he also continued a proud tradition of Antiguans playing an integral role.

“Back in the day, places like Antigua was a part of the Leeward Islands and then you have the Windward Islands as well. Back then it didn’t matter how good you were as cricketers, they never tended to look at those areas,” he said.

“It was always Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad. The rest of us didn’t matter and, to be honest, some of us were much better than some guys that were playing.

“They tended to look at us as small islands and since Sir Andy Roberts broke into the team in 1974 we have never looked back. Sir Viv came a few months after and then Richie Richardson, myself and the list goes on. Since then Antigua and Leeward Islands has produced a lot of West Indies cricketers.

These days the 61-year-old invests a lot of his time giving back to the sport as a certified Level 3 coach.

“I do a lot of coaching because I believe that I’ve learnt a lot during my playing days and giving back to cricketers means a lot to me,” Ambrose said. “Hence why I did all these coaching courses. I am a Level 3 coach so I am qualified to coach any team generally.”

Asked would he be interested in coaching Bermuda should the opportunity arise, Ambrose said: “Of course because even when I played there was always a strong following from Bermuda. You see them in the stands cheering on West Indies team and all that stuff, so I know they are passionate about cricket.

“If the opportunity comes where the cricket association here in Bermuda sees fit to invite me here to do coaching, I will gladly accept because it gives me pleasure just giving back.

“I also enjoy commentary just to look at the game from a different angle and give my insights to what I am seeing in the middle and I love it.

Regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Ambrose has visited the island twice and hopes to return again to explore more of its beauty and tranquillity.

“It’s nice to be back and what I like about Bermuda is it’s quiet and I‘ve always liked a quiet place,” he said.

“It’s small and you see everybody every day just within driving distance, so it feels like I am at home, and I know for sure that I will be back to see more of Bermuda.”