BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

IT HAS been 10 years now, but there is a moment of horror that still haunts West Indies cricket legend Curtly Ambrose.

The moment was the 1996 World Cup semi-final when the West Indies lost by five runs to Australia in Mohali, India and crashed out of the tournament.

For Ambrose, it was the worst moment of his illustrious cricket career.

"We suffered that defeat against Australia in the 1996 World Cup and that still haunts me up to this day. It is about the only regret I had in my career, not having a World Cup medal around my neck; it is the missing link and would have put the icing on the cake for me," the 42-year-old said from his home in Antigua.

"The thing that hurt the most was that we had the game won. It was a strange loss by just five runs and there was nothing really we could have done. I still, up to this day, can't put my hand on what caused the defeat.

"We were going along at a run a ball and suddenly we panicked and it all fell apart. I knew that if we had taken care of Australia there was no way Sri Lanka could beat us in the final. I was that confident. After the match there was complete silence in the dressing room. Not a man said a word. No one spoke because no one knew what to say. For once in my life I was down and out."

Ambrose had two for 26 from 10 overs as the Aussies reached 207 for eight.

Then the West Indies cruised to 165 for two in the 42nd over.

However, four wickets from Shane Warne and some tactical wizardry from Mark Taylor precipitated an incredible collapse - the Windies lost eight wickets for 37 runs in 50 balls to lose by five runs.

Richardson left stranded

Skipper Richardson was stranded on 49 not out. Shivnarine Chanderpaul made 80 in the opening spot and Brian Lara contributed 45.

"You must remember that in that same World Cup we lost to Kenya, so we were bouncing back. After the match against Kenya, we decided there was nowhere else to go but up, so we pulled ourselves together and refocused quickly," said Ambrose, who turns 43 on September 21.

"I say it to this day that if we had just been able to get those other five runs my cricket life would have been complete. We were on a roll and we would have rolled over Sri Lanka in the final for sure."

Ambrose said it was the only moment in his career he has regrets about. It was a career which brought an amazing 405 wickets in 98 Test matches at 20.99 apiece, and he ranks among the greatest bowlers in the history of the game.

In 176 one-day internationals, he garnered 226 wickets at 24.1 apiece, with an amazing economy rate of 3.48.

The amiable 6-foot-8-inch Antiguan started international cricket in 1988, and left in September 2000.