Former Hampshire left-hander Jimmy Adams burst back on to the ECB Southern Premier League scene with an unbeaten 134 for St Cross Symondians against Bournemouth – and then admitted he was “a touch nervous” before going into bat.
St Cross drafted Adams into play because county prospects Felix Organ and Harry Came were at The Oval with Hampshire and MCC YCs captain Billy Mead was net bowling to Steve Smith & Co at the Lord’s Test.
But, playing his first competitive match since retiring from county cricket last September, Adams brushed the cobwebs off his bat to score an unbeaten century which set up a 75-run victory for St Cross at his favourite Green Jackets ground.
Despite retiring with over 20,000 runs to his name, Adams, 38, confessed he hadn’t entirely been inactive with willow in hand since last autumn.
“I’m second team coach at Hampshire now, so having a bat in my hand is second nature,” he smiled.
“I’ve played a couple of games this season and had a few nets, but must admit I was a touch nervous when I walked out to join Max Curtis in the middle.”
St Cross were 50-2 at the time, but by the time Adams came in for his tea-time cucumber sandwiches he had cracked four sixes and 13 fours and steered his Winchester side to 264-4.
It was Adams’s fourth century in six knocks for St Cross in the past 12 months, the left-hander having made 585 runs in his four games in 2018 – making a significant contribution to the club’s maiden Premier Division championship success in the process.
He shared a century stand with Ed Ellis (41) as St Cross put the game beyond Bournemouth’s reach.
“Jimmy stung us in the tail a little bit, showing his class again and showing his quality. He batted beautifully for his 130 and 264 was I think a little bit above par and we could've bowled slightly better,” reflected Bournemouth skipper Chris Park.
Bournemouth lost Dorset skipper Luke Webb first ball and appeared to be headed for a catastrophic defeat at 87-9 (Marvin Williams 3-22).
But Chris Park (67) and Dan Conway (32) doubled the Lions score by adding an unbroken 102 for the tenth wicket and lifting Bournemouth to 189-9 in the process.
Disappointing performance
Park admits his side's batting struggles are something "we do need to address in the winter" after another disappointing performance at the crease.
“To be 87-9 was just again not acceptable. It's something that's kind of bitten us in the bum every single week really is our batting.
"It kind of flared up again on the weekend and myself and Dan Conway just had a little bit of fun at the end and enjoyed ourselves a little bit and managed to come away with three more bonus points than we were looking likely to.
"It was a disappointing performance, but nice to come away with three bonus points and bat the 50 overs eventually in the second innings."
Asked if good bowling or poor batting was the main factor in his side's second innings struggles, Park added: "It was a little bit of both.
"There were some good balls in there admittedly, but also there were a lot of loose shots and easy wickets given to St Cross, which was disappointing.
"That is something we need to address at the end of the season.
"Our batting needs to be a lot stronger and our top five or six need to be scoring the majority of the runs to get us a good total.
"It's something that we're aware of. We've done well in some games this year, but we've also obviously failed in quite a few games with the bat, which we do need to address this winter, maybe with recruitment as well."
Bournemouth, who lie eighth in the log, host Premier Division title favourites Bashley (Rydal) at Chapel Gate on Saturday, 12.30.
St Cross drafted Adams into play because county prospects Felix Organ and Harry Came were at The Oval with Hampshire and MCC YCs captain Billy Mead was net bowling to Steve Smith & Co at the Lord’s Test.
But, playing his first competitive match since retiring from county cricket last September, Adams brushed the cobwebs off his bat to score an unbeaten century which set up a 75-run victory for St Cross at his favourite Green Jackets ground.
Despite retiring with over 20,000 runs to his name, Adams, 38, confessed he hadn’t entirely been inactive with willow in hand since last autumn.
“I’m second team coach at Hampshire now, so having a bat in my hand is second nature,” he smiled.
“I’ve played a couple of games this season and had a few nets, but must admit I was a touch nervous when I walked out to join Max Curtis in the middle.”
St Cross were 50-2 at the time, but by the time Adams came in for his tea-time cucumber sandwiches he had cracked four sixes and 13 fours and steered his Winchester side to 264-4.
It was Adams’s fourth century in six knocks for St Cross in the past 12 months, the left-hander having made 585 runs in his four games in 2018 – making a significant contribution to the club’s maiden Premier Division championship success in the process.
He shared a century stand with Ed Ellis (41) as St Cross put the game beyond Bournemouth’s reach.
“Jimmy stung us in the tail a little bit, showing his class again and showing his quality. He batted beautifully for his 130 and 264 was I think a little bit above par and we could've bowled slightly better,” reflected Bournemouth skipper Chris Park.
Bournemouth lost Dorset skipper Luke Webb first ball and appeared to be headed for a catastrophic defeat at 87-9 (Marvin Williams 3-22).
But Chris Park (67) and Dan Conway (32) doubled the Lions score by adding an unbroken 102 for the tenth wicket and lifting Bournemouth to 189-9 in the process.
Disappointing performance
Park admits his side's batting struggles are something "we do need to address in the winter" after another disappointing performance at the crease.
“To be 87-9 was just again not acceptable. It's something that's kind of bitten us in the bum every single week really is our batting.
"It kind of flared up again on the weekend and myself and Dan Conway just had a little bit of fun at the end and enjoyed ourselves a little bit and managed to come away with three more bonus points than we were looking likely to.
"It was a disappointing performance, but nice to come away with three bonus points and bat the 50 overs eventually in the second innings."
Asked if good bowling or poor batting was the main factor in his side's second innings struggles, Park added: "It was a little bit of both.
"There were some good balls in there admittedly, but also there were a lot of loose shots and easy wickets given to St Cross, which was disappointing.
"That is something we need to address at the end of the season.
"Our batting needs to be a lot stronger and our top five or six need to be scoring the majority of the runs to get us a good total.
"It's something that we're aware of. We've done well in some games this year, but we've also obviously failed in quite a few games with the bat, which we do need to address this winter, maybe with recruitment as well."
Bournemouth, who lie eighth in the log, host Premier Division title favourites Bashley (Rydal) at Chapel Gate on Saturday, 12.30.