Former South African chinaman bowler Paul Adams turns 40 tomorrow. Born in Cape Town, Adams was known for his highly unorthodox bowling action which former England skipper Mike Gatting said was like “a frog in a blender” and it also earned him the nickname “Gogga”. Currently coaching the Cape Cobras team, Adams entered the international arena in 1995 at the age of 18 and made his Test debut against England at Port Elizabeth on 26th December and ended the match with figures of 4/126 in 65 overs.
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Adams made his ODI debut a couple of days later and in only his second match, he recorded figures of 3/26 which helped South Africa defend a paltry total of 129 against England and fetched Adams the Man of the Match award. He was subsequently selected in the squad to play in the 1996 World Cup and was the youngest member of the team.
He played two matches in the tournament against Pakistan and against West Indies in the quarter-finals. He took three wickets in the tournament at an average of 29 and at an economy rate of 4.83. Adams was a regular in the Test team during the late 1990s but made sporadic appearances for the ODI Team. However, Adams’ place in the South African team came under scrutiny due to injuries and the emergence of Nicky Boje as an all-rounder and he was soon out of the national team in 2004, when he was only 27.
He was recalled to the national team in 2006 for the Test series against India but was dropped from the squad before the first Test and was never seen anywhere near the national team again. He retired from professional cricket two years later in 2008.
Adams played 45 Tests and picked up 134 runs at an average of 32.87 and in 24 ODIs, Adams picked up 29 wickets. He ended his first-class career with 412 wickets at an average of 32.66 with 9/79 being her best bowling figures in first-class cricket.
Let’s take a look at Paul Adams’ top five bowling spells of his career.
#5 5/37 vs Bangladesh at Chittagong, 2003
After the final of the TVS Cup against India was abandoned, South Africa would now take on Bangladesh in Bangladesh for a three-match Test series. The first Test of this series was held at Chittagong and would be the first Test for Graeme Smith as the captain of the Test team.
After electing to bat first, Bangladesh were looking to be in control with Javed Omar and skipper Habibul Bashar adding 83 runs for the second wicket before the former was trapped LBW by Alan Dawson. Bangladesh could not take it from hereon as the South African bowling began to trouble their batsmen time and again and they eventually wrapped up their innings at 173.
The key architect of Bangladesh’s downfall after being 97/2 at one point of time was Paul Adams as he took the key wickets of Mohammad Ashraful, Akram Khan, and Alok Kapali before taking a couple of late wickets to end the first innings with figures of 5/37. The South African batting would respond brilliantly with debutant Jacques Rudolph making an unbeaten 222 and Boeta Dippennaar making an unbeaten 177 to take South Africa to 470/2.
Adams went on to take another five-wicket haul in the second innings to steer South Africa to victory by an innings and 60 runs.
#4 3/30 vs India at Sharjah, 1996
It was the final round-robin match of the Pepsi Sharjah Cup with both India and South Africa having already qualified for the final over Pakistan. India won the toss and Mohammad Azharuddin opted to bat first. Vikram Rathour’s half-century was keeping India in a decent position as all his other partners were not staying in the field for long.
After he got dismissed, India were reeling at 100/5 before Ajay Jadeja came in and rescued the Indian innings with his 69-ball 71 as India ended their innings at 215/8. Paul Adams was the pick of the South African bowlers as he picked up three crucial wickets; those of Vikram Rathour, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Nayan Mongia to end with figures of 3/30 in only his 6th ODI.
South Africa eventually won the match as they chased down the target with 17 balls to spare thanks to half-centuries from Daryl Cullinan (64) and Derek Crookes (54). Adams was eventually adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant spell.
#3 6/55 vs India at Kanpur, 1996
South Africa’s tour of India during the end of 1996 was turning out to be a very exciting series with the series level at 1-1 coming into the final Test of the series at Kanpur. India won the toss and Mohammad Azharuddin electing to bat first.
India were off to a good start with Woorkeri Raman and Sachin Tendulkar scoring half-centuries with Nayan Mongia and Sourav Ganguly providing good assistance with scores of 41 and 39 respectively. However, once Mongia, Raman, and Ganguly got dismissed, Paul Adams took centre stage.
He got the key wickets of Dravid and Azharuddin before scalping Tendulkar for 61. Adams’ brilliant bowling eventually caused Team India’s downfall and they were dismissed for 237 with Adams finishing with a then career-best figures of 6/55.
However, Adams’ brilliant spell would go in vain as India bowled out South Africa for 177 and thanks to a wonderful 163 by Mohammad Azharuddin, scored 400 in their second innings before dismissing South Africa for 180, thus winning the match by 280 runs and taking the series 2-1.
#2 7/128 vs Pakistan at Lahore, 2003
It was the first Test of South Africa’s Tour of Pakistan and South Africa elected to bat first after winning the toss. Half-centuries from Mark Boucher and Gary Kirsten took the Proteas to 320. However, Pakistan replied well by taking an 80-run lead in their first innings thanks to a century from Taufeeq Umar and a well-made 99 from debutant Asim Kamal.
However, Pakistan might have taken a much bigger lead had it not been for Paul Adams’ brilliant bowling. Adams broke the 109-run opening partnership between Umar and Imran Farhat by clean bowling out the latter before dismissing Umar himself. He also took the wickets of Shoaib Malik and Moin Khan who were looking dangerous out there and scalped all the tail-enders to end the first innings with career-best figures of 7/128.
However, Adams’ spell would go in vain as some brilliant bowling by Danish Kaneria and Shoaib Akhtar dismissed South Africa for 241, thus giving Pakistan only 162 to chase down in the second innings which they did with eight wickets in hand to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
#1 3/26 vs England at East London, 1996
It was the 6th ODI of England’s Tour of South Africa and the Proteas were confirmed of a series win, having already taken a 4-1 lead. South Africa captain Hansie Cronje won the toss and decided to bat first. However, it did not turn out to be a good decision as South Africa were struggling with the England bowlers piling too much pressure on them by taking wickets at regular intervals.
A 30-run stand for the ninth wicket between Brian McMillan and Fanie de Villiers helped South Africa cross 100 and they eventually ended their innings on 129. England had a poor start to their run chase as Fanie de Villiers and Shaun Pollock picked up a couple of early wickets to keep England at 19/3. However, a 56-run partnership between Graeme Hick and wicket-keeper Jack Russell put England back on track.
At this point, Paul Adams who was playing only his second ODI was introduced. He took the key wicket of Graeme Hick and followed that by taking another crucial wicket, that of Graham Thorpe. He took his third wicket of the match by bowling out Dominic Cork and England were tottering at 88/7 before being dismissed for 115 and South Africa took the match by 14 runs. Adams was awarded the Man of the Match for his career-best ODI figures of 3/26 which helped South Africa defend a paltry total of 129.
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