Sportmax – Windies middle-order batsman turned opener, Sunil Ambris, is filled with pride at becoming the first man from St Vincent and the Grenadines to score an international century after his heroics for the Windies saw the Caribbean side romping to a five-wicket victory against Ireland in the Walton Tri-Series in Malahide Cricket Ground in Dublin on Saturday.
Ambris scored 148 at better than a run a ball, setting the platform for the Windies to overhaul 327.
For partners, Ambris depended on Shai Hope, 30, and Roston Chase, 46, before Jason Holder, 36, and Jonathan Carter, 43 not out, brought home the game.
“It is something that I can’t explain. I don’t know how I’m feeling. It’s out of this world,” Ambris said after the game.
“It’s something that I have been working at, something that I have wanted to achieve. I mean, being from St Vincent, nobody there has ever done that. It is something that I really wanted to do,” he said.
Ambris, for all his talent, and the runs he had been scoring in first-class cricket, had an inauspicious start to his international career, breaking his arm in a series against New Zealand after getting out hit wicket on the two previous times he bat.
Now, in just his fourth ODI, he has achieved something nobody from his country ever has.
“This is probably the best I’ve batted since I came into international cricket. I haven’t played much games…once I got in tried to carry it as deep as possible. I was fluent so I wasn’t bogged down,” Ambris said.
“I got boundaries and was always going at better than a run a ball. The guys I batted with helped me and they guided me as well,” said Ambris.
Maybe more interesting, is that Ambris was set to bat somewhere in the lower middle-order, but was sent to open after an injury to John Campbell rendered him unavailable.
Though not used to batting first up, Ambris said he did not view the change as a challenge.
“I saw this as a big opportunity to get a big score and going in at the top gave me that chance do something special.”