James Clive Adams OD (born 9 January 1968) is a former Jamaican

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er, who represented the West Indies as player and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during his career. He was a left-handed batsman,

left-arm orthodox spin Left-arm orthodox spin, Left-arm off spin also known as slow left-arm orthodox spin bowling, is a type of Finger spin, left-arm finger spin bowling (cricket), bowling in the sport of cricket. Left-arm orthodox spin is bowled by a left-arm bow ...

bowler and fielder, especially in the

gully A gully is a landform created by running water, mass movement, or commonly a combination of both eroding sharply into soil or other relatively erodible material, typically on a hillside or in river floodplains or terraces. Gullies resemble lar ...

position. He was also an occasional wicketkeeper when required. He was the head coach of

Kent County Cricket Club Kent County Cricket Club is one of the eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Kent. A club representing the county was first founded in 1842 but Ke ...

for five seasons between 2012 and October 2016.Jimmy Adams: Kent head coach leaves after five seasons in charge
BBC Sport, 17 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-17. He retired from all cricket in 2004 after a twenty-year career, ending with a Test batting average of 41.26

CricInfo ESPN cricinfo (formerly known as Cricinfo or CricInfo) is a sports news website exclusively for the game of cricket. The site features news, articles, live coverage of cricket matches (including liveblogs and scorecards), and ''StatsGuru'', a d ...

. Retrieved 14 January 2019. with a highest score of 208 not out against New Zealand at

St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda St. John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 22,219, St. John's is the commercial centre of the nation and the chief port of the island of Antigua. Hi ...

in 1995. In addition to his playing and coaching credentials, Adams was appointed chairman of FICA in May 2009, replacing the South African great

Barry Richards Barry Anderson Richards (born 21 July 1945) is a former South African first-class cricketer. A right-handed "talent of such enormous stature", Richards is considered one of South Africa's most successful batsmen. He was able to play only four ...

. Adams held this role until March 2017 when he was replaced by Vikram Solanki, Surrey CCC's head coach.

Domestic 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-class career. He continued his cricket career for a couple of years after the year 2000, captaining South African provincial team Free State and making guest appearances for Lashings World XI in England.

International career

Making his mark

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 the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. He went on to pick up 4/43 in South Africa's first innings and score a vital 79 not out in the Caribbean side's second innings to help the Windies win this one off encounter. During the first test against New Zealand of the 1995/96 season, Adams claimed 5 for 17, his only five wicket haul in test match cricket at Barbados' Kensington Oval. Within the subsequent and final test of that series he scored a career best 208 not out in a drawn encounter at the Antigua Recreation Ground in

St John's, Antigua St. John's is the capital and largest city of Antigua and Barbuda, part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 22,219, St. John's is the commercial centre of the nation and the chief port of the island of Antigua. Hist ...

. West Indies won the series by a 1-0 margin.

Captaincy

Adams was appointed as West Indies captain in 2000, in replacing

Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing reco ...

. He started off with test series victories against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in the Caribbean. Though Windies went on to falter in an away test series against England. After a 5–0 test series loss on the 2000/01 tour of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, Adams thereafter lost both the captaincy (to

Carl Hooper Carl Llewelyn Hooper (born 15 December 1966) is a former Guyanese cricketer who captained the West Indies in Tests and ODIs. An all-rounder, he was a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler, who came to prominence in the late 1980s in a side ...

) and his place in the regional side. News of Adams' impending dismissal was divulged by friend and national TV reporter, Peter Furst. He 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. With an average of 41.26 from 54 tests, Adams' Test career thus came to a close. He later joined up as the new skipper of South African club side Free State.

Coaching career

He was head coach at

for five seasons between 2012 and 2016.

Personal life

During August 2021 Adams was bestowed with Jamaica's Order of Distinction for his contribution to the sphere of sport.

References

External links

*
HowSTAT! statistical profile of Jimmy Adams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Jimmy 1968 births Living people Free State cricketers Jamaican cricketers Sportspeople from Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica Nottinghamshire cricketers Jamaican expatriate cricketers in England West Indies Test cricket captains West Indian cricket commentators Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Jamaica West Indies One Day International cricketers West Indies Test cricketers Berkshire cricketers Wiltshire cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Jamaica cricketers Jamaican cricket coaches Scarborough Festival President's XI cricketers Officers of the Order of Distinction