The Profile
A cricket career with numbers to match the reputation.
Courtney Walsh took 519 Test wickets for the West Indies, which at the point of his retirement in 2001 was the most anyone had ever taken in Test cricket. He was tall, he was quick, and he had an action so economical that he bowled more overs than almost anyone else in the history of the game without breaking down.
Paired with Curtly Ambrose, the two of them formed the spearhead of the last great West Indian bowling attack. They toured England in 1995 and 2000 and left behind a trail of English batsmen who had been schooled in exactly how much pace and bounce a real fast bowler could generate from a good length. Walsh was the more metronomic of the pair and perhaps the more thoughtful tactician.
Post-retirement, he has coached West Indies, coached Bangladesh, and remained a respected voice in world cricket. When he walks into a room, the aura he carries is that of a man who knew exactly what he was doing on a cricket pitch and never had to raise his voice to prove it.
“We did not need to plan a Test match. We stood at the top of our runs, worked it out, and by tea on the second day the plan had always worked.”
Career highlights
- 519 Test wickets for the West Indies, at retirement the world record
- 132 Test matches
- Winner of the Wisden Cricketer of the Year, 1987
- Order of Jamaica for services to cricket
- Coach of Bangladesh and West Indies
First hand
Courtney Walsh at Steam
Courtney appeared at Steam in July 2025 in a joint event with Curtly Ambrose. The two of them had not done a joint event in years and the stories from the 1991 tour of England were worth the entire booking fee on their own.