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Ambrose joins 400 club England, West Indies bowlers share honors
LEEDS, England (AP) -- West Indies fast bowlers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh hit back with five England wickets on Thursday as fortunes seesawed on the first day of the fourth cricket test. Fifteen wickets crashed on a traditionally bowler-friendly Headingley pitch. After a career-best 5-57 by Craig White and Darren Gough's 3-59 on their home ground enabled England to dismiss the West Indies for a modest 172, England stumbled to 105 for five at stumps after being forced to bat 41 overs in the final session. Ambrose, 2-19, became the fifth bowler and the second West Indian to claim 400 test wickets. The gangling paceman, who turns 37 in September and will retire at the end of the five-match series, joined fellow fast bowler Courtney Walsh (475 wickets in 121 test), Indian Kapil Dev (434 in 131), New Zealander Richard Hadlee (431 in 86) and Pakistani Wasim Akram (400 in 97) in an elite club. Playing in his 97th test, Ambrose needed just two wickets to join the club and in the matter of three overs he was saluting the cheers of the disappointingly low 10,000 first day crowd. Among a small group of West Indians were his wife and two daughters, who had arrived in anticipation of his momentous occasion. He first removed Marcus Trescothick with he fifth ball of his second over and then had Michael Atherton, with the last ball of his third, both caught by his good friend and first slip Brian Lara. "I was saying to myself, if it was Mike Atherton or Alec Stewart it would be nice," Ambrose said of his 400th wicket. "I mean no disrespect for the other England players. Atherton and Stewart have been around for a long time, and we've had some good battles over the years. "It was Atherton and I'm quite happy. "I wouldn't say it was my greatest moment. I've had good spells over the years that have brought West Indies victory, which to me are more satisfying. "It's always a nice feeling to take wickets in test cricket, whether it's your first one or the 400th. I'm quite happy it's all over and done with. "The only thing that's left for me is to try and win this test match and the series. That's my aim; that's my goal. It means a lot to West Indies cricket," Ambrose added. "At that moment I was happy, but it's all gone now. I don't take my job home. I enjoy all the glamour and glitter on the cricket field and when I leave, I leave it right here." Ambrose said he still stood by the decision to retire at the end of the series. "It's nothing to do with me bowling well or not. I bowling well and still holding my own. There comes a time one has to leave. And that's it." With England slumping to 10-2, Graham Thorpe, 46 runs, and Nasser Hussain, 22, thwarted another meek England surrender with a fighting 70-run stand for the third wicket before the skipper fell after nearly two hours at the crease. Walsh, returning for his second spell took 3-8 in 28 balls to send the England innings nose-diving from 80-2 to 96 for five. He took his series tally to 26 wickets while Ambrose's two gave him a series bag of 12 in the penultimate match of his career. With the exception of youngster Ramnaresh Sarwan, 59 not out, the West Indies batsmen failed to vindicate skipper Jimmy Adams' decision to bat first and lasted just 48.4 overs in two sessions on a traditionally seamer-friendly surface. Sarwan, who batted for 12 minutes over two hours for his second test half century, held the fragile innings together and saved face with Ridley Jacobs, 35 runs, in a rapid 68-run stand for the sixth wicket after coming together at 60 for five. Sarwan and Jacobs counter-attacked England's four-man attack after resuming on 83 for five at lunch and took 47 runs off the next 10 overs before Dominic Cork, 2-19, separated them. Playing only his second test outside the West Indies, Sarwan played one of the better innings by the visitors during the four matches so far. He accumulated his runs off just 82 balls and hit nine confidently-struck boundaries. White, the fledging test allrounder, claimed 3-6 in 17 balls including star batsman Brian Lara in a standout spell of seam and swing bowling to start the West Indies rot on an overcast day. Playing only his 11th test, he claimed his best figures in four years as he improved on his 3-18 against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1994. "It was a dream come true," White said. "I always wanted to take Lara's wicket in a test match. I did today and it was the wicket I enjoyed the most." Just 10 weeks ago, White had suffered a worrying blackout which affected his outlook to life and finally enabled him to deliver at the top level, six years after making his test debut. "I was preparing for a life without cricket," White added. This was after Yorkshire team-mate Gough had struck in the third over by having vice captain and opener Sherwin Campbell caught in the gully by Marcus Trescothick for eight with only 11 runs on the board. Replacing Gough from the pavilion end, White removed left handers Wavell Hinds (16 runs), Lara (4) and Adams (2) to leave the innings teetering. In between, Gough returned for his second spell to have opener Adrian Griffith caught behind for 22. Hinds, West Indies in-form batsman on the tour, fell to the first legitimate decision against him after he had been contentiously given out caught behind in his three previous outings. When Stewart caught Hinds it gave the former England captain his 150th catch as a wicketkeeper.
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