JIMMY ADAMS: GLEANINGS

If the interview process is in some way akin to a bowler probing a batsman for a weakness, then my prospects of getting much ‘juice’ from Jimmy Adams were slim. 

A redoubtable blocker who acquired the nickname ‘Jimmy Padams’ on an early tour to India on account of his method of dealing with the ball turning out of the rough (by this stage of his career, 12 Tests in, only Bradman had better numbers), he told me that his best innings – “maybe, maybe” – was a boundary-less 202-ball 48 nout out to win a Test match against Pakistan by a single wicket, which, I guess reveals much about the man.

It’s fair to say he squeezed the most out of his talent. Maybe, maybe.

He was also a very intelligent, thoughtful cricketer – and a fiercely honest one, too, taking on the bumbling West Indies Cricket Board at a time when dissent might have meant the end of his career.

He has had one or two different positions since calling time – WI Players Union chief, WI U19s coach – and now finds himself in his third year as First Team Coach at Kent. It was during his team’s game at Derby in May that I caught up with him for a chat about his career. He was generous with his time, too, giving me over two hours either side of lunch as he kept half an eye on his team in the field. He evn asked me what my favourite knock was, vexed by such a question.

Anyway, there will be a feature on West Indies’ rivalry with Australia over the course of the 1990s, while a more general, life-and-times quotes piece ran a couple of weeks ago. It should be read with a mellifluous Jamaican accent: “So, Brian and Healy might be warring…”

Jimmy Adams: Gleanings