Adams salutes his bowlers after Lord's triumph (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Adams salutes his bowlers after Lord's triumph

7:15pm Saturday 15th September 2012 in Sport By Simon Walter, Senior Sports Reporter

Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams paid tribute to his bowlers after their dramatic Clydesdale Bank 40 final victory over Warwickshire at Lord's.

Neil Carter failed to score off the last ball of the game, bowled by Kabir Ali, meaning Hampshire won by virtue of losing fewer wickets after both sides finished on 244.

"It hasn't sunk in. Kabir did a great job and the seamers held their nerve and we just snuck over," said the skipper, who was named man of the match after his 66.

"I have been a bit short of runs, the last few games I have come good. I'm just very happy to contribute today."

With regulars Dimitri Mascarenhas and Danny Briggs missing from the side, there was pressure on fringe players such as Kabir to step up. They did and Adams was keen to pay tribute to their performance.

"They have been brilliant today," he added. "We are missing a few guys but the other guys came in and made it count. It has been a great day's cricket and we are fortunate to come out on the right side of it."

The win adds to their trophy haul for the campaign after their Twenty20 triumph earlier in the season and Kabir spoke of his nerves as he ran up to bowl the final delivery.

Jimmy (Adams) told me to try and get the dot ball," he said. "I had been working on them for a while. My heart was pumping quite fast but I managed to control it."

Pictures and match report in the Sports Pink plus more reaction in Monday's Daily Echo