CAPE TOWN – ‘Gogga’ and ‘Frog in a blender’ were just two of the ways Paul Adams was described when he played international cricket for South Africa.
He burst on to the scene as an 18-year-old in the 1995 Boxing Day Test against England in Port Elizabeth, where his first wicket was left-hander Graham Thorpe. He dismissed then-England captain Mike Atherton as well for 72.
Adams, a left-arm wrist spinner with a highly unusual action, took 134 wickets in 45 Tests for the Proteas – still the most by a SA tweaker – from 1995 to 2004, and also featured in 24 one-day internationals for his country, where he claimed 29 wickets.
His best performance in a Test came in 2003, when he produced a match haul of 10/106 against Bangladesh in Chittagong.
He went on to coaching at franchise level, where he won a few trophies with the Cape Cobras, and he is now the head coach of the Western Province senior team, as well as a TV commentator.
We sat down with the 42-year-old Adams to discuss his playing career, the tactics employed by current Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj during the second Test against England at Newlands, as well as transformation in SA cricket and much, much more…
IOL Sport Talk
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