Thursday 11th December 2008, The Brit Oval, London – Surrey County Cricket Club today announced the appointment of Chris Adams as its Professional Cricket Manager on a three year deal.
After what proved to be a lengthy negotiation process, Adams joins the Club after retiring from a twenty year first-class career with Sussex and Derbyshire. His playing days culminated in him leading Sussex to an unlikely victory over Nottinghamshire in the final match of the NatWest Pro40 Division One season, a win which secured the seventh piece of silverware in his ten year reign at the helm. This makes him one of the most successful county captains of recent times.
During his first class career, Adams scored 19,535 runs at an average of 38.68, playing five Test Matches and five One Day Internationals for England. His inspirational captaincy was credited by many as the reason for Sussex’s regular silverware over recent years.
Whilst in Hove, Adams skippered Sussex to the LV County Championship Division Two title in 2001, was victorious in the top division two years later and then won back to back titles in 2006 and 2007.
He also brought success to the county in the One Day arena, taking home the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy in 2006, the NatWest Pro40 Division Two title in 2005 and the Division One title in 2008.
The signing of Adams comes shortly after Surrey announced that Club legend Graham Thorpe would be returning to the Brit Oval as a specialist batting coach. Thorpe will be supporting Adams and working with batsmen at all levels of the Club.
Speaking after signing his contract, Adams said: “I am delighted to join Surrey at this stage. Although there is sadness that I won’t walk out again as a player, that is overridden by my desire to take on this new challenge.
“It is a huge privilege for me to leave one role and walk straight into this amazing opportunity. Surrey are a big club with some high performing players and I look forward to working alongside the guys as we look to bring long-term success back to the Brit Oval.
“There is nothing more rewarding than leading a group of men to great success. I’ve done that as a captain and now intend to do it again as a manager.”
His passion was echoed by Gus Mackay, the Managing Director of Surrey Cricket who added “Securing Chris’ services after what was a very thorough recruitment process is fantastic for the Club. His experience, expertise and work ethic is exactly what we need to help instill a culture that will help us become a successful Club once more.
He added: “From his time at Sussex he knows a thing or two about winning trophies and I’m confident that he is the man to bring these winning ways back to Surrey in the coming years. We firmly believe that we need strong leadership off the field during this period of rebuilding and Chris is a natural leader of people. I wish him every success.”
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