luxury locations issue 21

MY ANTIGUA

CURTLY AMBROSE: STILL HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THE REST N otoriously reticent throughout his sporting career (“Curtly talks to no man”), the 59-year-old from You’re known not just for cricket these days but music too. How did you get into music and what do you love most about performing with Spirited? I am Antiguan and we are very musical We have historical sites to visit, some of the best beaches in the world and of course our local cuisine. You can’t come and not sample our food. I am a big seafood person, One of the most feared fast bowlers the world has ever seen, former West Indies cricketer Curtly Ambrose was known the globe over for his huge 6ft 7ins frame, lethal pace and metronomic accuracy.

Swetes, Antigua, is today – happily for us – slightly more amenable to giving interviews. Here he talks exclusively to Luxury Locations Magazine about his passions, his pride in his nation and his plans to help propel the West Indies back to the forefront of the gentleman’s game. If you hadn’t been a cricketer what would you have done? I’d have been a professional basketball player. Basketball was my dream sport from an early age, followed by football. Cricket was third on my list. My mother was a cricket fanatic and wanted a cricketer in the family. My older brother used to play but when he went to the US she forced me to play instead. I have no regrets at all. It was a privilege and an honour to represent my country for so many years. What is your most memorable moment on the cricket pitch? I am fortunate to have many. But my most memorable series would be against Australia in Australia in 1992–3. We were a very young team, we had just lost Vivian Richards, along with Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall and Jeffrey Dujon, and no one thought we had a chance. To beat Australia was incredible. Why is the Four Knights Cricket Academy important to you? It’s extremely important because cricket in Antigua, and the region by extension, needs a lot of help. It’s not as good as it used to be. I believe when you look at the names behind it – Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Richie Richardson and myself – and what we have done for cricket, it can generate interest in our young cricketers.

I love ground provision too – plantains, potatoes – you should sample all that stuff. For anyone coming on vacation to the Caribbean, Antigua should be first on the list; you won’t regret it. Tell us one thing no one knows about you. Lots of people know things about me so if there’s one thing they don’t I would have to keep it a secret (laughs). They should not know everything about me; I have to leave something for myself. n As told to Gemma Handy

people. Music has always been a part of my life. I was always drawn to the idea that when I left cricket my new career would be music. I loved playing bass and it was an easy transition because it was something I loved. Performing with Spirited is special because we always have fun, not just as a band but we make sure the audience does too; we enjoy it most when they are happy. Being Antiguan and Caribbean, reggae and calypso songs are always high on the agenda but we try to be diverse and play all genres to please everybody. Some R&B, some soul, a bit of everything so everyone can enjoy it. If you could achieve one more thing in life, what would it be? I am very content with how my life turned out, so as long as my family and I are happy, that’s the most important thing to me. How would you like to be remembered? Oh boy. Many people will remember me for many different things. I will just leave that to the many cricket followers to remember me as they see fit. What makes you proud to be Antiguan? We are a proud people, very resilient and we set very high standards in whatever we do. We have certain values that we live by and those values are what I set for myself as well. In Antigua, we always try to be the best we can be in everything; I can relate to that too. What’s the one thing visitors to the country should make sure they experience? Many things but since you ask for one, I will say our hospitality. Our warm, friendly nature is what you can expect when you come to Antigua.

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