ONE of the most fearsome pace bowling duos in the history of cricket will be at Dubbo next month to help raise funds for the city's golf club.
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West Indians Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh will be special guests at a dinner on Thursday, March 21, with only 150 tickets on offer.
The visit comes three years after another West Indian legend, Sir Vivian Richards, attended a similar function which proved to be a massive hit.
Maureen Dempsey, who organised Richards' trip, is also in charge of bringing Walsh and Ambrose to Dubbo and admitted the whole thing had come together very quickly.
"I only got an email from their manager on Monday," Dempsey said.
"I'm not on the golf club board any more so I took it to them and they gave me the thumbs up to go ahead and make it happen.
"It's a good way of promoting the golf club and actually Dubbo as a city so we're looking forward to the dinner."
Ambrose and Walsh were both stars in the glory days of West Indian cricket.
A former Windies skipper, Walsh made his test debut in 1984 and took 519 wickets at the top level in a career which spanned 17 years and 132 matches.
He also played 205 one-day internationals for a return of 227 wickets.
Ambrose’s career was shorter but no less stunning. He took 405 test wickets from 98 matches and was known for his run-ins with batsmen, including Australians Dean Jones and Steve Waugh.
In one match against Australia in 1993, he took seven wickets while conceding only one run in a spell described as the most fearsome in the history of international cricket.
Back when Richards visited Dubbo, a number of lucky locals got the chance to enjoy nine holes of golf with the legend himself as well as his travelling partner, former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg.
However, that option will not be available on this occasion.
“Viv loves his golf but unfortunately Courtney and Curtly aren’t quite so keen,” Dempsey said.
“They’re both very tall (Walsh stands 6’6” and Ambrose 6’7”) and as such they never really got into golf.
“But the dinner will be a very good chance to hear some of the great stories from these legends of cricket.”
Tickets for the dinner cost $100 and there is a strict limit of 150 (15 tables of 10) available for purchase.
“When we had Viv here we had more than 200 and it was very cramped,” Dempsey said. “So we’re setting the limit firmly at 150 tickets on a first come, best dressed basis.”
For more information on the dinner contact the Dubbo Golf Club on 6882 1255.