Hundred wickets now out of reach: Adams

By Dave Bracegirdle

Despite picking up 40 wickets in the first half of Nottinghamshire’s LV= County Championship campaign, Andre Adams insists he has no chance of pushing on to reach the ‘magical’ century mark this summer. “Not unless we play on green seamers from now until September,” he laughs.

No Nottinghamshire bowler has taken 100 wickets in a first-class season since 1988. On that occasion the county had two players who made it into three figures, Franklyn Stephenson and Kevin Cooper.

But bBoth former county stalwarts had far more opportunity to reach their target than Adams will encounter in 2012. Back then, Notts played 26 first-class matches, 22 of them in the Championship. Stephenson played in a total of 22 games for his 125 wickets, with Cooper bagging 101 dismissals from his 24 matches.

Adams didn’t return from his winter commitments with Auckland in time to play in the opening warm-up match of this season, against Loughborough MCCU and was then forced to sit out the home match against Somerset due to a virus.

His seven other outings in the first half of the campaign have seen him shoot to the top of the Division One wicket-taking table, and Adams has already claimed five wickets or more in an innings on three occasions, with a best of 7 for 32 in the victory over Lancashire at Old Trafford.

Those figures were a career-best for the former New Zealand international, who turns 37 in July and were part of an overall match return of 10 for 50. Even though he has enjoyed a hot-streak in recent weeks, however, Adams isn’t getting carried away by the weight of expectation. “It’s not going to happen. One hundred wickets are just what dreams are made of,” he added.

In Nottinghamshire’s Championship-winning season of 2010 Adams collected 68 victims and only went one fewer last term. So what are his realistic expectations now?

“I target fifty every year,” he admits. “This year – after the start I’ve had - I’ll probably have to target seventy to have a decent return from here after the way I’ve been bowling. For us to go well in the Championship it’s important that I keep taking wickets, so, you know, another thirty or thirty-five from here would be a good return.”

Although that century is out of the question – another one is still in his thoughts. “It’s been an ambition since I came to Notts to score a century for the county but - with the way I bat - if it’s gonna happen it’ll come off about forty or fifty balls. That would be nice but right now I’m just content to strike a few at the end, take a few wickets and hang on to a few catches – just so long as I keep contributing.”


Date: 10/06/2012 12:36:00 by MBaldwin
In: Today | Nottinghamshire |