Adams Avoids Temptation And Reaps Rewards

Date: 2nd September 2010

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

At Aigburth: Third Day of Four: Hampshire, 160 and 275 for five wickets lead Lancashire, 398, by 37 runs with five second innings wickets in hand

There are at least two ways of looking at today's play at Liverpool. Lancashire partisans will be disappointed that the Old Trafford attack, albeit that it was lacking Glen Chapple, was unable to bowl out Hampshire and wrap up an innings victory inside three days; cricket lovers from Merseyside and beyond, however, will be delighted that Hampshire's magnificent resistance has prolonged this game into a final three sessions which may yet have a surprise or two ready for us. Another sun-soaked morning at Aigburth beckons. What could be better than that?

Sustaining Hampshire's resistance throughout the 103 overs their innings has lasted so far was Jimmy Adams, who reached a thousand runs for the season when he scored five on the first day of this game, and then celebrated by making a chanceless 110 not out in Hampshire's second dig. The seemingly inexhaustible patience of the 29-year-old Winchester opener has enabled Dominic Cork's side to take a 37-run lead into the fourth day and his innings earned the warm plaudits of his opponents. Perhaps there is little praise that can be too high for Adams's performance. The Aigburth wicket remains good but it is no featherbed; Lancashire's four-man attack maintained its accuracy throughout the 96 overs. Yet Adams's technique coped with it all, as did his temperament. Unbeaten on 80 at tea, he took 91 balls to reach his hundred and had faced 284 deliveries by the close. The opener has so far batted for 394 minutes and his resistance is by no means broken yet. He shared partnerships of 73 runs for the third wicket with Neil McKenzie, and 78 with Sean Ervine for the fifth; when stumps were drawn on a golden evening, his unbroken partnership with the impressive Michael Bates had yielded 57 runs and the 19-year-old was 27 not out. Lancashire will be hoping that a little early morning moisture helps them make breakthroughs tomorrow.

But it takes two teams to produce a cricket match as good as the one enjoyed by the 1400-strong crowd at Liverpool on Thursday. Lancashire's attack coped well with the absence of Chapple and have put their team in a good position to complete a deserved win tomorrow. And once again, Tom Smith was the pick of the Red Rose attack. Bowling from his favourite River End, the 24-year-old seamer had McKenzie caught by Gareth Cross for 31 when the South African attempted a pull, and five balls later, he uprooted James Vince's middle stump when another of Hampshire's promising 19-year-olds essayed an airy drive. Smith also had Sean Ervine caught at slip by Paul Horton when the Zimbabwean - who so often frustrates Lancashire - had made 48. Smith finished with three for 56 and offered further evidence that he is ready for some further representative recognition.

In the morning session, Hampshire scored 70 runs in 30 overs for the loss of Michael Carberry, who top-edged a pull off Kyle Hogg to wicketkeeper Gareth Cross, and Phillip Hughes, who was caught at slip off Gary Keedy when he snicked a ball to Horton via his pad. That was Keedy's only success of the day but it was by no means the end of his service to the cause. The slow left-armer bowled 36 overs at a cost of 67 runs and he allowed Lancashire's stand-in captain Mark Chilton to rotate his seamers from the River End. "I thought that was a proper day's cricket," said Chilton. "Jimmy played really, really well and he was exceptionally patient. We want to win the game and we hoped to get more wickets today, but it is very satisfying to play in that type of match because you know you are in a real contest. You definitely get a little bit more satisfaction from being on the right side of the result in games like that."