Jimmy Adams
Encyclopedia
James Clive "Jimmy" Adams (born 9 January 1968) is a former Jamaica
n cricket
er, who represented the West Indies
as player and captain
during his career. He was a steady left-handed batsman, useful left-arm orthodox spin
bowler
and good fielder
, especially in the gully
position. He was also an occasional wicketkeeper when required.
career, although it wasn't until the 1991/92 season that he was called into the West Indies Test
squad for the first time, making his debut against South Africa
at Bridgetown
, Barbados
.
In his opening twelve matches Adams scored 1,132 runs
at a batting average
of near 87, a record bettered only in the history of Test cricket by Australia
n Sir Donald Bradman. In the first half of his Test career, Adams averaged 61.34 compared to 25.58 in the second half, this differential is the largest in Test history.
In the mid 1990s he began to struggle at international level. In a tour match against Somerset
, he was hit by a bouncer
by bowler Andre van Troost
, shattering his cheekbone.
Adams was appointed as West Indies captain in 2000, replacing Brian Lara
. He would not last long, leading the team to a 5-0 series loss on the 2000/01 tour of Australia; after the tour he lost both the captaincy (to Carl Hooper
) and his place in the national team. News of his impending termination was broken to Adams by friend and national TV reporter, Peter Furst. The ever-cool Jamaican simply responded, ¨Have you heard something I haven't?¨ He then reflected on his career, saying that whatever happened it had all been a blessing - both the good and bad. Adams´ grace in the face of what would crush many a lesser person reflects the nature of the man; a cricketer whose best attributes can never be recorded on the score sheets.
He continued his cricket career for a couple of years after this, captaining South Africa
n provincial team Free State
and making guest appearances for Lashings World XI
in England
. He retired from all cricket in 2004 after a twenty year career, ending with a Test batting average of 41.26 with a highest score of 208 not out against New Zealand
at St. John's
, Antigua and Barbuda
in 1995. In 2005 and 2006 he played for Dunstall CC in the Derbyshire League.
Adams can often been seen commenting on cricket for Sky Sports
in the UK.
, Bridgetown
, 1991/92
Last Test: vs Australia
, Sydney
, 2000/01
, Sydney, 1992/93
Last ODI: vs Australia, Melbourne
, 2000/01
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who represented the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
as player and captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
during his career. He was a steady left-handed batsman, useful left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin
Left-arm orthodox spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket.Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left arm bowler using the fingers to spin the ball from right to left of the cricket pitch...
bowler
Bowling (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...
and good fielder
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
, especially in the gully
Slip (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a slip fielder is placed behind the batsman on the off side of the field. They are placed with the aim of catching an edged ball which is beyond the wicket-keeper's reach. Many teams employ two or three slips...
position. He was also an occasional wicketkeeper when required.
Career
Adams was called into the Jamaican squad for the 1984/85 season as a teenager and enjoyed a good if unspectacular start to his first-classFirst-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
career, although it wasn't until the 1991/92 season that he was called into the West Indies Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
squad for the first time, making his debut against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at Bridgetown
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
In his opening twelve matches Adams scored 1,132 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
at a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of near 87, a record bettered only in the history of Test cricket by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Sir Donald Bradman. In the first half of his Test career, Adams averaged 61.34 compared to 25.58 in the second half, this differential is the largest in Test history.
In the mid 1990s he began to struggle at international level. In a tour match against Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
, he was hit by a bouncer
Bouncer (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a bouncer is a type of delivery, usually bowled by a fast bowler. It is pitched short so that it bounces on the pitch well short of the batsman and rears up to chest or head height as it reaches the batsman.Bouncers are used tactically to drive the batsman back on to his...
by bowler Andre van Troost
Andre van Troost
Adrianus 'André' Petrus van Troost is a former Dutch cricketer.A right-arm fast bowler van Troost represented his nation at ICC Trophy level between 1990 and 1997, taking thirteen wickets in nine matches at the bowling average of 17.38.-Playing career:Van Troost played for Somerset in English...
, shattering his cheekbone.
Adams was appointed as West Indies captain in 2000, replacing Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
. He would not last long, leading the team to a 5-0 series loss on the 2000/01 tour of Australia; after the tour he lost both the captaincy (to Carl Hooper
Carl Hooper
Carl Llewellyn Hooper is a former West Indian cricket player and captain.-Career:He was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side that included such players as Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh and represented...
) and his place in the national team. News of his impending termination was broken to Adams by friend and national TV reporter, Peter Furst. The ever-cool Jamaican simply responded, ¨Have you heard something I haven't?¨ He then reflected on his career, saying that whatever happened it had all been a blessing - both the good and bad. Adams´ grace in the face of what would crush many a lesser person reflects the nature of the man; a cricketer whose best attributes can never be recorded on the score sheets.
He continued his cricket career for a couple of years after this, captaining South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n provincial team Free State
Orange Free State cricket team
The Free State cricket team is the first-class cricket team representing the province of Free State in South Africa....
and making guest appearances for Lashings World XI
Lashings World XI
The Lashings World XI is a famous cricket team, founded by David Folb. It was originally formed in 1984 as a scratch team, and grew from an unremarkable English local club cricket team into, as it bills itself, the "World’s greatest cricket club"....
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He retired from all cricket in 2004 after a twenty year career, ending with a Test batting average of 41.26 with a highest score of 208 not out against New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at St. John's
St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda
St John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. St John's is located at...
, Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...
in 1995. In 2005 and 2006 he played for Dunstall CC in the Derbyshire League.
Adams can often been seen commenting on cricket for Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
in the UK.
Tests
Test Debut: vs South AfricaSouth African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, Bridgetown
Bridgetown
The city of Bridgetown , metropolitan pop 96,578 , is the capital and largest city of the nation of Barbados. Formerly, the Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael...
, 1991/92
Last Test: vs Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, 2000/01
- Adams' best Test batting score of 208 not out was made against New ZealandNew Zealand cricket teamThe New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
, St. John'sSt. John's, Antigua and BarbudaSt John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, a country located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. St John's is located at...
, 1995/96 - His best Test bowling figures of 5 for 17 came against New Zealand, Bridgetown, 1995/96
- His Test captaincy record was: 15 matches, 4 wins, 8 losses, 3 draws
One Day International
ODI Debut: vs PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
, Sydney, 1992/93
Last ODI: vs Australia, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 2000/01
- Adams' best ODI batting score of 82 was made against Australia, Port of SpainPort of SpainPort of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, 1998/99 - His best ODI bowling figures of 5 for 37 came against Pakistan, AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, 1996/97 - His ODI captaincy record was: 26 matches, 10 wins, 14 losses, 2 no result
First-class
- Adams' best first-class batting score was 208 not out
- His best first-class bowling figures were 5 for 17
List A Limited Overs
- Adams' best List A batting score was 112
- His best List A bowling figures were 5 for 36