20 Facts about Paul Adams – The Bowler with Most Unique Action

Paul Adams might not have been a big name in the history of South African cricket but he remains to be one of the players who actually made his mark in the game. He was renowned for his weird yet effective action. But there is certainly more to the life of this man from Cape Town apart from his bowling action. Here are some interesting facts about Paul Adams.

1. Early Life:

Paul Adams was born on 20 January 1977 at Cape Town in South Africa. Adams started playing cricket at a young age and plied his trade as a batsman back then. However, a teacher at the Plumstead School pushed him towards bowling after spotting his talent. Adams then started bowling left-arm unorthodox spin. Very Unorthodox we would say!

2. Being mocked as a young cricketer:

Paul Adams admitted that his bowling action was always mocked by the opposition ever since his early playing days. His action was under the scanner on most occasions. But a gritty young man, Adams, always continued bowling with the same action.

He was not the only bowler with a weird action – 7 Bowlers with the weirdest bowling actions ever

3. Nicknames:

When Brian McMillan first saw Paul Adams at the nets, he called him a ‘gogga’. Gogga is an Afrikaans word for a gnat-like insect. His peculiar bowling style prompted to call him ‘gogga’. It soon became his popular nickname. Adams’s bowling action was highly unorthodox and Mike Gatting likened it to a “frog in a blender”

4. Can’t see the batsman?

Such unusual was his action, that most of the opposition players and even his teammates often wondered how he managed to see the batsmen with such weird bowling action. “People think I can’t see the batsman when I bowl, but I can,” Adams was quoted as saying in Paul Adams- A biography.

5. Spectacular first-class career:

Although Paul Adams made sporadic appearances for the national side, he was a very successful player in the domestic circuit. Having played 141 matches, he has 412 wickets to his name with the best of 9/79. He got 16 five-wicket hauls in his first-class career.

6. Test debut:

He made his Test debut against England in 1995 during the fourth Test of England’s tour to South Africa at Port Elizabeth. He picked up 3/75 in the first innings including key wickets of Mike Atherton and Graham Thorpe. He picked up a wicket in the 2nd innings as well in the match that ended in a draw.

7. Youngest debutant:

When Paul Adams made his Test debut in 1995 at the age of 18, he became the youngest Test player to have represented South Africa in the history of the game.

8. ODI Debut:

He made his ODI debut against the same opposition a year later in 1996 at his home ground, Newlands, Cape Town. However, he did not get to bowl much as he bowled just 2 overs to give away 18 runs.

9. A memorable 6-for:

The critics had slammed Adams to be very young to be playing for the national side. But he was quick to respond with a 6-wicket haul in his fifth match.

10. A racial controversy:

Paul Adams replaced Pat Symcox in the Test team in 1999. Many labeled this as a politically motivated decision to include a black player replacing a white player.

11. Another controversy to his name:

In the year 2000, Adams was found smoking Marijuana along with fellow teammates Herschelle Gibbs, Roger Telemachus, Andre Nel, Craig Smith and Justin Kemp in the Caribbean. The United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) fined the group 10,000 rand ($1,300).

There have been more such instances in the game – 7 Infamous incidents when cricketers were banned for doping

12. Best figures:

When South Africa toured Pakistan in 2003-04, Paul Adams picked up his career best figures of 7/128 in the first Test at Lahore. However, poor batting by South Africa in both the innings saw the visitors succumb to an 8-wicket defeat.

13. 100 Test wickets:

In 2002, Adams went past 100 Test wickets, becoming the seventh South African to achieve the distinction.

14. One of best cricketers in 2002:

Paul was named one of the outstanding cricket players of the 2001-2002 season, along with the likes of Graeme Smith, Andrew Hall, Steve Elworthy and Martin van Jaarsveld by the South African Cricket board.

15. Early retirement:

He announced his retirement from professional cricket on October 2, 2008, more than four years after his last Test match and five years after his last ODI. Adams decided to take a premature retirement from playing at the age of 27 and look towards a job in broadcasting.

16. Leading left-arm spinner:

Adams has 134 Test wickets to his name, which is a national record. No other South African left-arm spinner has more wickets than him in Tests so far.

17. Personal life:

Adams is a happily married man and is married to Adi Adams and has two kids.

18. Coaching role:

He has had the opportunity of coaching the Cape Cobras at the age of 35 in the South Africa domestic tournament in 2012. He rates Simon Harmer as the next best spinner in the South African cricket circuit. He is currently (2015–16) the coach of the Cape Cobras cricket team.

19. Biography:

Writer Eugene Abrahams penned down the biography of Paul Adams under the title – “Paul Adams – A Biography”.

20. Overall career and… the action!

With 134 wickets from 45 Test matches and 29 wickets from 24 ODIs, Adams remains to be one of the most famous cricketers to have ever played for South Africa. Paul Adams was a Chinaman bowler, and as he reached the bowling crease, his arm completed the round action; it appeared as if Adams’s head contorted the full 360 degrees before the release of the ball. His head faced skywards at the time of the release of the ball. Watch his action here: