Early career
Adams played for England Under-19 in the 2000 Under-19 World Cup,making three Youth One Day International appearances in the tournament. [4] He also made one Youth Test appearance against Sri Lanka Under-19 in 2000. [5] For Hampshire,he began playing Second XI Championship cricket in 1999,and in 2000 he faced the first bowl to be bowled at Hampshire's new Rose Bowl complex in a Second Eleven fixture on the Nursery Ground. [3] He turned professional at the end of the 1999 season. [6] Adams made his debut in first-class cricket when he was selected to play for the British Universities team against the touring Sri Lankans at Northampton in 2002. [7] In the same season,he made his senior debut for Hampshire in a List A one-day match against Surrey in the Norwich Union League,with Adams making three appearances in the competition; [8] he also made his County Championship debut at the end of the season,playing twice against Sussex and Surrey. [7]
Adams time studying at Loughborough coincided with Loughborough UCCE being afforded first-class status. [9] He was appointed Loughborough captain for the 2003 season. [10] He played in Loughborough's inaugural first-class match against Somerset,in the process scoring his maiden first-class century (107 runs). [11] He played two further matches for Loughborough and making an appearance for the British Universities against the touring Zimbabweans. After finishing his semester at Loughborough,Adams appeared regularly for Hampshire as Derek Kenway's opening partner in the latter part of 2003 County Championship. [7] [12] His innings of 60 in the first innings of Hampshire's final Championship match of the season against Derbyshire was a key component in their total of 580 all out,and eventual 10 wickets victory that helped Hampshire avoid finishing bottom of the County Championship for only the second time in their history. [13] He played three first-class matches for Loughborough in 2004, [7] though was replaced as captain by David Wigley. [14] He also played for the British Universities against the touring New Zealanders. [7] Having completed his studies at Loughborough,Adams became avaliable to play in the latter half of the 2004 County Championship,making eight appearances. [7] He also made three one-day appearances in the 2004 Totesport League. [8]
