``I want to play international cricket and believe that my chances of doing so will be improved in a different environment,'' was Adams's response to Derbyshire's decision to grant him his release last September, with a year of his five-year contract unexpired.
``Derbyshire bowlers may play for England but Derbyshire batsmen don't, which may have something to do with the sub-standard pitches we've prepared for our seamers so often,'' claimed Adams at the end of the 1996 season, when he was the country's third highest run-maker in a side who finished second in the championship under Dean Jones.
``My desire to move is nothing to do with money. It is about cricket and my determination to move to a county where I will have a better chance of playing for England,'' was the stance as he threatened to launch a 'Bosman-style' legal battle in the European courts to force Derbyshire to free him.
``Oh yes,'' came the doubting word from the Derbyshire dressing-room last winter when he opted for a Sussex contract rumoured to be worth £200,000. ``If it's about ambition rather than cash, why is he joining a county who have just finished bottom of the championship and Sunday League?''
Adams's justification for a decision which seemed somewhat at odds with his stated intention was that Sussex, and especially their captaincy, presented exactly the challenge he needed to galvanise a career which had stalled amid the seething politics and personal antagonisms at the County Ground.
Yesterday, when he celebrated his inclusion in England's one-day squad with a century for Sussex at Trent Bridge, Adams might have smiled sweetly and simply said: ``I told you so.''
Instead he was to be found in print in a Sunday newspaper with some caustic reflections on his time with Derbyshire, who face Sussex in a championship game at Horsham this week while Adams is away with England.
Describing the bitter in-fighting which followed the resignation of Jones last season as ``the worst experience of my career'', Adams said: ``When the club finally agreed to release me it felt like I had been let out of jail.''
Derbyshire's startling, and surely ill-advised, response yesterday was to issue an unattributed press release blowing an undignified raspberry in Adams' direction.
``Derbyshire County Cricket Club finds it rather saddening that on the morning of his England selection, Chris Adams should choose to rake over the events of last season, particularly since he portrays only a rather biased and one-sided version,'' read the statement.
``Last season was extremely testing for all concerned and a man heavily involved in the politics of the situation should appreciate that we do not wish continually to look to the problems of the past. While wishing Chris every success in his England career, Derbyshire aim to get on with their season and forge a successful team and a positive club atmosphere. Perhaps Chris should do the same.''
Where Adams is concerned, only one thing is not in dispute at Derby: his right to the chance which arrived yesterday. While he passed the 1,000-run mark only three times in 10 seasons of first-class cricket he was a consistent match-winner in the one-day competitions, making 5,166 at just under 40.