Date-stamped : 24 Apr95 - 14:34 Benson and Hedges Round 1 : Derbyshire v Northamptonshire Derby, 23 April 1995 Adams lets loose - Neil Hallam Derbyshire (180-1) bt Northants (179) by 8 wkts THE fines imposed on Derbyshire`s players for failure to comply with a new "code of fitness and conduct" during pre-season preparations appeared to have a salutary effect as they overcame Northants by eight wickets. This stricter regime was hatched in response to last season`s de- cline in standards and Derbyshire fairly bristled with purpose in dislodging Northants for 179 and surpassing them with more than 15 overs to spare. Chris Adams, with a muscular 94 and the leading role in a second-wicket stand worth 160 in 36 overs, claimed the Gold Award but it was no foregone conclusion. Barnett`s assiduous unbeaten 58 offered the ideal foil and Devon Malcolm, with four for 50, and Colin Wells, who strangled the Northants innings with one for 18 in 10 overs, were worthy candi- dates. Adams sought release from his contract last winter when his claim to a "performance-related increment" was rejected, but there was no evidence of disaffection as he survived difficult chances on 47 and 56 to make his runs off only 101 balls, including 14 fours. Derbyshire were within six runs of victory before Adams, attempt- ing to complete a century with a six, holed out to deep cover. The rustiness of Paul Taylor`s left-arm seam was evident with seven wides in five overs and, with Anil Kumble`s leg-spin errat- ic, Northants` bowling lacked penetration. There was some movement early on after Derbyshire had won the toss and too many Northants batsmen got out after getting in to set a more testing target. Alan Lamb, dropped on 38, miscued with another lunge at Wells four overs later and, with Malcolm`s pace taking its toll, Der- byshire were hardly extended. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)