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Curtly Ambrose is involved in coaching these days and the former outstanding West Indies fast bowler is ready and willing to guide and nurture the young crop of regional pacers.

I am employed by the Antigua Government in the Ministry of Sports and I do a lot of coaching, mainly in the schools,he said yesterday.

We need to develop our cricket from the grassroots and I intend to do my part,added the 37-year-old Antiguan who retired from international cricket last September.

Ambrose, who was speaking before the start of the Winston Reid Benefit match at Kensington Oval in which his long-serving pace partner Courtney Walsh also made an appearance, thinks he can assist the new generation of fast bowlers.

If the opportunity arises, I would love to do so, he said.

I know all these guys. I've played with some of them before and I know that the guys have the highest respect for me.

In recent seasons, while Ambrose and Walsh have been admirable spearheads for the West Indies, the back-up support staff like Reon King, Mervyn Dillon, Franklyn Rose and Nixon McLean have been let down by their inconsistency.

Both Ambrose and Walsh, however, believe their replacements are ready for the challenge on the eve of tours of Zimbabwe and Kenya. It will be the first time in more than a decade that a West Indies team will make a tour without either of the two great warriors who shared 924 Test wickets between them.

This is probably what they need to come to the fore not having myself or Courtney around,Ambrose said.

Success does not come overnight. These guys have the ability to go forward but it is going to take a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication, added the holder of 405 Test wickets.

As long as they are willing to put in the hard work, I am sure that at the end of the day, they will make us proud.

Walsh, Test cricket's highest wicket-taker who retired after the recent series against South Africa, said it was going to be a challenge for the young fast bowlers.

I think they are ready. I personally want to wish them all the best and I hope that after they come back from the tour, we will have a few new finds and the guys will be ready to show that they can carry on the mantle.

It is not going to be easy, but it is a good time for them to start now.

The 38-year-old Walsh, who captured 519 Test wickets in an illustrious career which started in 1984, had some simple, yet serious advice for Dillon, King and company.

Stay disciplined, listen to whatever you can learn and give it everything you have.

While Walsh also wants to get involved in developing young players, it is not an immediate intention.

I will look at it maybe at a later stage. At the moment I just want to get some rest and there are a few things at home I want to get sorted out, he said.

I'll like to help out as best as I can. I'm planing to help old school (Excelsior) and probably the Jamaica youth team, but I wouldn't say that I want to go straight into it right now.

© The Barbados Nation