Chris Adams at the 'Sussex CCC Monthly Lunch'
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(pics: Phil Barnes)The first of the Winter Sussex CCC monthly lunches was a cracker of an event as both Chris Adams and Bruce Talbot attended to promote
their jointly written book ‘Grizzly - My Life and Times in Cricket’. There is a recent review on this blog.
The first frisson of the lunch was the fact that Adams was late attending due to “a highly important meeting in London.” While Chris was
tight-lipped several Members suggested he was being interviewed as a potential coach for the England Women’s Cricket Team.
Adams No.1 fan, Brenda, was naturally upset as she had pride of place on the top table sitting next to him, but Chris duly arrived as dessert
was being served to the applause of some of the audience. Not surprisingly, a majority of the 80 or so attending the luncheon were Chris
Adams supporters.
Chris Adams and his No.1 fan
During coffee Adams began his talk by stating the 11 years at Sussex were “The best of my life” while adding, “The time spent at Surrey were
some of my worst!” He further added that coming to Sussex “was the best ever decision of my life,” quickly stating, “Apart from marrying my wife!”
We learnt his nickname came from the American TV series “Grizzly Adams” - a ‘Grrrr’ man who lived in the mountains and wrestled with bears. He
walked into the Derbyshire dressing-room on his first day as a professional cricketer and a wag shouted “Here comes Grizzly!” The name stuck.
As ever his anecdotal stories were fun to hear with the Mushy saga being one of the best. The Sussex Committee in 2003 had two ‘yin and yang’
characters who sat at opposite ends of the table - John Snow and Johnny Barclay.
Adams and Peter Moores were seeking an ‘X Factor’ for the side and they had decided a spinner was the answer. Already, Australian leg-spinner
Stuart MacGill had been mooted but with a price tag of £100k, he was deemed too expensive. Mushtaq was another choice. At £50k half the price
of MacGill, but John Snow was adamant that Mushy was the wrong person describing him as “washed-up and not fit for purpose.” Immediately,
Barclay stood up, looked to the heavens, and said, “What would Spen Cama do as he looks down upon us? How would he like us to use his legacy?
Improving the off-field facilities, yes, but surely the team too?” A Committee vote duly took place and Snow was unanimously and thankfully out-voted.
Another was the time when Sussex were playing Leicestershire at Hove in 2003 to secure their first ever Championship Trophy (who can forget that day)
and Adams was batting with Murray Goodwin. Sussex required just two runs to gain the point needed to grasp the trophy and Adams was facing. The
bowler sent him a half tracker which Adams thrashed at with all his might to hit that glorious six and duly missed the ball. The over was done. It was
now Goodwin’s turn. The batsmen met in the middle. A beaming Goodwin winked at Adams and said in the true words of the party-animal he was,
“It’s going to be one helluva night tonight!” A ball later Goodwin had secured the point.
Adams went on to say that one way of defining a “very good batsman” and a “great batsman” was what followed next. After passing 100 Adams felt
shattered by the emotion of the day and the season. The Club had done it. He told Goodwin he’d had enough, that he would whack as many boundaries
as possible and was duly out the next over. Instead, Goodwin went on to score 335*, one of the greatest ever individual Sussex innings. Murray had the
mentality, strength and desire to carry on. That’s what made him great.
Another Mushy story occurred two weeks before the legendary Lords OD final against Lancashire. Sussex were playing a 40 over game and unusually the
opposition whacked Mushy to all parts given the closeness of the pitch to the Members pavilion.
All was lost but Adams went in and scored one of his best OD 100s for the club getting the team over the line with a couple of balls to spare. Everyone was
delighted with the unexpected result, none more so than Mushy, who felt responsible for the opposition’s high score. As the side began to celebrate in the
dressing room, Mushy stood up and said he wanted to say just two words and two words only. The room went quiet. He looked at Adams with a relieved yet
beaming smile and said, “I love you”.
Bruce Talbot’s turn followed and he explained how the book came about and the process of writing it with Chris. We learnt that Jon Filby had read the tome
in just two hours - perhaps a record - although later Jon explained he had been on a plane at the time with no distractions.
The questions from the floor were varied from the future of county cricket, the time spent at Surrey to his views on Luke Wright. Another question being:
Did Adams have any regrets with his career to date? He replied that leaving Sussex in 2008 was his greatest ever regret - it was a big mistake - adding he
hoped, at some point in the future, that an opportunity would transpire at the club for him to return where he could continue contributing to the county’s
future. His sentiment was met with thunderous applause.
Afterwards, a long queue appeared as those already with purchased books had them signed. Meantime, a special mention of the food. The two course meal
was excellent.
The Winter Sussex CCC Monthly lunches have been going for 8 years. This season five have been booked with three speakers still to be confirmed. All occur
on a Wednesday.
October 28th: Chris Adams
November 25th: TBC
January 27th: TBC
February 24th: TBC
March 30th: Adrian Harms (BBC Radio Sussex sports commentator)www.sussexcricket.co.uk/news-1/monthly-lunches-returning-for-the-winter
