Talented all-round Andre Adams has arrived back in New Zealand and although he’s played for the Auckland Aces before he comes into the side as an overseas player. He talked with www.blackcaps.co.nz about being back in the country, playing for the Aces and what role he’ll play within the side this summer.
35 year old Adams made his New Zealand domestic debut in 1997/08 and was a main-stayer for the Aces until 2007/08. He’s spent the last few years offshore playing for Nottinghamshire in the UK. He’s got over 3000 First-Class runs and 400 wickets to his name.
During his time in New Zealand this summer Adams will be playing for Auckland in all three forms of the game. He’s looking forward to playing for the team he spent the most time with while in NZ. “I’m quite excited about playing for the Aces,” he said. “We had practice over the weekend and I was anxious to get in there and meet the team. I’ve only been away for two and a half years but it’s nice meeting some of the younger guys.”
He has a wealth of cricketing experience and knowledge, playing 115 First Class fixtures, 149 domestic One-Day and 35 Twenty20 domestic games. He hopes that experience will help the Aces lift the silverware in the three formats this summer. He is, however looking forward to the HRV Cup and seeing some of the top overseas players such as Brett Lee and Herschelle Gibbs in action. “Twenty20 is exciting. I’m going to take every game as it comes and hopefully pass on some knowledge – that’s my role as an overseas player, so to speak,” he said.
He takes the field today for the Aces in the first round of the Plunket Shield against the Canterbury Wizards in Christchurch. He’ll be playing along side some younger players, including left-arm spinner Jeet Raval. “Hopefully I can offer the younger players some guidance and pass something onto them,” he said.
The right-arm fast-medium bowler and right-hand batsman has spent the last few seasons playing for Nottinghamshire and he believes cricket in the UK is different to the cricket in New Zealand. “I’ve played for Nottinghamshire since 2007. I went as an overseas player but found I could go back and play under my West Indies heritage,” he said. “We won the championship last year which was a great feeling. It’s different over there and it’s a real eye opener. You don’t know what it’s like until you get out of New Zealand. But it’s good to be back.”
Quick fire questions
- What’s your secret vice? “Anything mechanical.”
- What do you miss about NZ the most? “The fresh air. As soon as you land here you can smell the difference.”
- What’s been a big cricketing highlight for you? “Winning the championship with Nottinghamshire. It hasn’t been done by a Kiwi before, so that was pretty special.”
- What do you bring to the Aces? “Experience. I’ve got an old head on an old body!”
- What’s your message to the fans? “I’m looking forward to seeing you at the games. Come down and support us this summer.”
