Mark Adair - 'It's changed how I look at cricket'
Ireland all-rounder discusses his franchise breakthrough with the Gulf Giants
For fans from more established cricketing nations, those more used to seeing their favourite players on the franchise circuit, this year’s ILT20 had its biggest global reach when Tom Curran was controversially run out. The details are a bit arduous, but think T20’s answer to Bairstow vs Carey at Lord’s, only this time the batter survived. (Watch the incident here)
Standing at the non-striker’s end during the chaos was Ireland’s own Mark Adair. His body language suggested he was as confused as anyone when Nicholas Pooran appeared to run Curran out despite everyone thinking it was the end of the over. For what it’s worth, Adair was named player of the match in a Gulf Giants victory. He hit 15 off 8 balls with the bat alongside an earlier spell of 1-24.
While the rest of the word fixates on viral controversies, Irish fans have been keeping an eye on the UAE-based competition precisely because of Adair’s involvement with the Giants. The upper echelons of franchise tournaments are enough of a rarity for Ireland players that fan forums are awash with updates on Adair’s figures every time he plays.
It’s not just a novelty for fans. This is just the second major franchise tournament in which Adair has played since leaving Warwickshire in 2017. He has been the leader of Ireland’s attack for some time, building a strong T20 record, especially with the new ball. His power hitting is a valuable bonus. That form hasn’t translated to franchise gigs.
In 2021, he was drafted for the Abu Dhabi T10 only for a side strain - endured during Ireland’s loss to Namibia at the T20 World Cup - to rule him out.
Since then, nothing. In 2023, he was named in the ICC T20I team of the year. Still nada. There were murmurings of stints in England, playing in the Blast. These didn’t materialise, one such offer recently going awry when the details couldn’t be agreed with Cricket Ireland.
Eventually, a stint in the most recent T10 was followed by this opportunity with the Giants. Finally given a chance in recent weeks, Adair has flourished, taking 10 wickets at an average of 17.7 in seven matches so far. A strike-rate of 157 when batting at the death has also helped his reputation.
Aged 28, Adair isn’t running out of time. But it must have still seemed a lengthy wait for franchise opportunities to match his international record? “Not really,” says the Holywood native. “I don’t feel like I’d anything to prove. I’m delighted to be out here, enjoying myself. The group is great.
“I don’t think I had to prove anything to anyone else. I’m glad it’s going well.”
In recent years, the feedback Adair received has been that teams wanted more ball speed. Yes, he was a skilful bowler who could be threatening with the new ball, but franchises wanted extra pace. The Gulf Giants clearly don’t entirely buy into that theory given, in Adair and Dan Worrall, they have two medium pacers who have had success with the new ball.
“I think it’s always going to matter, people want ball speed,” says Adair. “If you can swing the ball around at 140 clicks (km/h) I’m sure it’ll be a lot more attractive than doing it at 127.
“It’s nice to know that you can do it. It’s not just ‘Oh he’s done it against Austria, he can do it against guys who are recognised franchise cricketers and international cricketers.’
“I have a decent enough record in T20 cricket so it was never really in doubt if I could do it, it was whether I could do it consistently. I’ve been a bit up and down in this competition but I think most of the time I’ve been pretty solid. Just trying to keep involved and keep learning.”
In Adair’s first game with the Giants, he took 2-23 at an economy of under six. He nicked off Jason Roy with the new ball. He also hit an unbeaten 20 off 10 balls, taking down New Zealand bowler Adam Milne with three boundaries in the final over.
Game two saw, quite frankly, a ridiculous return. His first over with the swinging ball was a double-wicket maiden. His movement back in saw the left-handed Fakhar Zaman chop on. He added another maiden when still bowling in the powerplay. Shimron Hetmyer dropped a difficult chance off Adair as the Giants still fielded two slips into the eighth over.
It’s always interesting to see how franchises use Irish players. Do they identify different strengths or weaknesses compared to what national coaches see?
For Ireland, Adair bowls two overs in the powerplay, two at the death. Like all death bowlers, he can have his expensive moments. But he has improved in that facet of the game.
For all that development, there is no doubting that Adair is at his best when the ball is swinging, as it has done under lights in the UAE. The Giants agree. Of the 26 overs he’s bowled in this tournament, 14 have been in the powerplay. Just three have come at the death. Intriguingly, the Giants - led by captain James Vince and head coach Andy Flower - have used Adair for nine overs in the middle period. He generally doesn’t bowl there for Ireland.
“They [the coaching staff] had meetings with all the players before the comp started and outlined how they see them, how they want to use them and what role they might play,” says Adair.
“They’re clear, people have roles. People have lineups and it’s less match-up orientated about what the batter’s strength is and more about what the bowler’s strength is, which is nice. ‘You’re a new ball bowler, your job is to get the ball swinging both ways if you can. Create doubt, create challenges, try and dominate the powerplay.’ We’ve done that quite a lot this trip.
“You don’t feel like you have to go out there and set the world on fire, you just need to go and do your job. If you have a great day, keep it going, make it an even better day. It’s changed how I look at cricket and how I look at roles and responsibilities.”
Changed how?
With Ireland, as the leader of the attack, does Adair take on a bit too much responsibility? It’s no secret that in franchise cricket, particularly a league dominated by overseas talent such as the ILT20, it’s much easier to put together a balanced team full of different skillsets. International sides, especially those with a shallow player base like Ireland, need everyone to cover all bases.
“No one’s asking me to run the team at any stage in either team, but you can’t help but think about things like that, you can’t help trying to help other people out,” says Adair. “There might be times you do get caught up in that. It’s obviously something I’m going to continue to do with Ireland. I enjoy it, I feel it’s a good thing to do.
“[With the Giants], you’re just looking at things, ‘This is what I need to do, this is my strength, this is what gives me the best chance to perform my strength and you’ve other people who are stronger in other areas.’ That’s how you put the team together and it’s a lot easier when you have depth of players coming from all around the world who have done all sorts of things for however long. It runs pretty strongly.”
From Cricket Ireland’s perspective, as the primary employers of players, franchise cricket can be a risk. Once players go off to these teams, they can become commodities, rather than individuals who need to be developed. Running the drinks for a month does them no good.
This hasn’t been the case with Adair, who has played in every game so far with the Giants. He name checks bowling alongside Worrall, the best new ball bowler in county cricket, as a development highlight. Bowling at the death to the likes of Dasun Shanaka, the Sri Lankan batter, also comes in for mention as a challenge.
Adair is learning. He says himself that the way he thinks about T20 cricket has changed. Success has come alongside this shift. Ireland should ultimately benefit when Adair links back up with his national teammates, currently in Dubai for a pre-Zimbabwe tour training camp.
These results should bring with them further opportunities in different leagues. More developmental opportunities, as well as financial perks. “I’ll take whatever comes,” says Adair. “There’s been some good opportunities which I’ve enjoyed.
“I enjoyed the T10 and the Gulf Giants, they’re a great group. The more I can learn there the better.”
Refreshing to hear Marks upbeat comments on how he’s improving and enjoying his talent. Great inspiration for Irish cricket in general to witness more of our players careers benefiting from franchise and other leagues.