What makes a winner – Profile of Chris Adams

Chris Adams was captain of Sussex Cricket throughout the greatest era in the county’s history, winning a first Championship title in 2003, and again in 2006 and 2007, but where many people dream of becoming a successful sportsperson, I started by asking him when did he decide he was going to be a professional cricketer?

“It came completely out of the blue. I dreamt of a career as a professional sportsman, but football was my first love at 15. I had finished my O-Levels at Chesterfield Boys Grammar school and had signed what was then a YTS contract with Chesterfield Football Club to pursue my dream.

“During the summer, whilst playing cricket for Derbyshire U17’s, my parents were approached by the team coach and Cricket Master at Repton College where I was offered a full scholarship. Repton were regarded as a strong footballing school so my dreams to play pro football were buoyed by the potential to get into the England Schools team. However, on the eve of the trials I was Ill, performed very poorly and missed the cut. 

“Fast forward to the cricket season where I had a dream start. My first five innings recorded four centuries and on the Tuesday evening after the last one, my housemaster knocked on my door and asked me to follow him to his study, where I was greeted by the Chairman and Captain of Derbyshire CCC! Apparently, they had been trailing my performances and the scouts had been watching – both Lancashire and Worcestershire had put requests in to approach me and that night, I had an offer of a three-year pro contract with Derbyshire!”

Adams made his first-class debut for Derbyshire in 1988 at eighteen and stayed there until 1997 before leaving to become captain of Sussex. Despite leading from the front in helping to turn a club of perennial underachievers into a successful side, Adams recognises that the feature of Sussex’s success, whilst including stand out players to win the Championship, also needed every player to make important contributions along the way. 

“Mushtaq Ahmed was of course the standout performer, on and off the field. Over 500 wickets across 6 seasons speaks for itself but his impact extended way beyond that. His desire and thirst to bowl so many overs, often at the more difficult end meant our talented seam trio of Kirtley, Lewry and Martin-Jenkins bowled less overs and fewer spells resulting in fresher legs, less injury, and more potent spells from them – a winning formula. With the bat we had some amazing talent, Montgomerie, Yardy, Prior, Cottey, Ambrose but the standout for me was Murray Goodwin. Not consistent week in week out but he always turned up for the big occasion and when he did get in, he often went big, sometimes very big.”

These players clearly contributed to the success of Sussex in the 2000’s but is it more important to have the skill or the right attitude and how important is having the right level of confidence?

“I have seen many a talent lose their way through a poor attitude and being unable to accept or see this. On the flip side I have seen examples of players with limited skills completely max out on potential and extend their careers by sheer desire to work hard, learn, adapt and evolve. In all those cases resilience stood out and if I could impart just one attribute into any young aspiring cricketer it would be that. Having said that, I’m a firm believer in confidence being a by-product of preparation and belief. Peter Moores, my first Sussex coach used to talk about belief being the enemy of doubt. I can link the times in my career to when I began to doubt my ability to a drop in preparation standards so it’s important to work hard and prepare well. I always took the field with confidence and belief both individually and as a team.” 

However, despite winning the County Championship in 2003, it was another three years before the team could emulate that feeling again and Adams acknowledges they probably spent far too long enjoying that win and failed to recalibrate for the next two campaigns. “I call it Everest syndrome. For those that successfully reach the peak of Everest many elements need to come together. Firstly, months of training and preparation are required before you even reach base camp, key personnel are identified and given specific roles, you need all the right equipment and a mindset so rigid on reaching the top despite huge challenges and difficult conditions along the way. Once you reach the summit, you have just seven minutes to enjoy the moment before you must descend, otherwise you die, simple as that. To be able to successfully climb the following year everything must match the year before and due to evolution often it must be better. If you don’t, you often meet with failure therefore it’s very difficult and challenging to stay at the top for any length of time.”

In his decade long first-class playing career, Adams scored 19,535 runs, with an impressive forty-eight centuries and a highest score of 239. Adams announced he was stepping down as Sussex captain on 14 September 2008, guiding Sussex to the Pro40 Division One Title the same day. He subsequently announced his retirement from first-class cricket, upon his appointment as cricket manager of Surrey County Cricket Club after which he became Head coach. So, I asked him what was his proudest achievement?

“There were many, thankfully: my debut for Derbyshire aged just 18, winning a Lords final with both Derbyshire & Sussex as a player and with Surrey as Head Coach, being part of the Sri Lankan coaching team that beat England in all formats in the 2014 series, coaching Netherlands to an incredible World League 1 champions and ODI status. All these were incredible moments, but I cannot separate the top two. Making my Test debut for England in South Africa fulfilled an ambition that was embedded in me on my first day as a professional at Derbyshire. Of course, as Captain being the first to ever lift the County Championship for Sussex ranks as high as representing my country, an incredible moment not just for me but for every Sussex supporter of any age. A truly memorable moment which will always be with me.” 

If you could offer three pieces of advice to be successful, what would they be?

“Environment and culture are so important. Get the right people in the right roles and empower them to be the best they can be. Clarity is hugely important for any player and coach. Finally know your destination, if you don’t know where it is you want to get to, how on earth can you plan your journey.”