Adams eyeing Lord's spectacle

Jimmy Adams concedes his first Lord's final will be "something special" after guiding Hampshire to a memorable 64-run win against Lancashire

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Hampshire opener Jimmy Adams is relishing the prospect of playing in a first Lord's final after helping his side overwhelm Lancashire by 64 runs at Old Trafford in the Friends Provident Trophy.

Adams missed out on participating with Hampshire in the 2005 and 2007 finals, but has now established himself in the one-day side and turned in a man-of-the-match performance in the semi-final showdown.

Adams top-scored with 78 and then pulled off two stunning catches to dismiss Lancashire's dangermen VVS Laxman and Francois Du Plessis.

Former England coach Duncan Fletcher watched proceedings from the balcony in his new short-term role as consultant to Hampshire.

Adams said: “In 2005 and 2007 I watched in the stands at Lord's with a few of the other guys. It is a weird feeling. You want your side to do well but there is a frustration that you're not part of it.

“To play in my first Lord's final would be something special. It's been a bolt out of the blue for me to play one-day cricket.

“My limited-overs record in previous years has been pretty innocuous. It is just great to get the chance to contribute.

“We've been lucky this year in the fact that when some of our big players haven't done the business, some of us have chipped in.”

Adams shows his delight after ending Francois Du Plessis' innings with a superb diving catch

Adams and Michael Lumb plundered 159 off 25 overs for the first wicket before Hampshire collapsed to 271 all out.

But Adams' two fine catches helped to ensure Lancashire suffered their ninth semi-final reversal in the last 10 years in all competitions.

Adams said: “We should have scored more after the start we had but, having been put into bat, 271 was always competitive.

“I got those two catches and it was the sort that sometimes just stick in your hand. We knew Du Plessis was a big player for them but overall in the field today we backed up our bowling.”

Lancashire wicketkeeper Luke Sutton admitted: “We can have no complaints that we have gone out. It's a game we could have won and we thought 271 was gettable.

“But we didn't bat to our normal standards. We have chased scores like that before but we lost wickets at crucial times.

“Peter Moores has told us you have 24 hours to celebrate a win and 24 hours to get over a defeat. It doesn't feel very good at the moment.

“But we've got a break now before we play again on Friday and it will be a chance to freshen our minds.”