THE AGE OF contentment has been a long time coming for Chris Adams. In ten years with his native Derbyshire he became, by his own admission, bitter, rebellious and frustrated. Inside a few weeks at Sussex, he achieved his England dream – and blew it. Now, at 29, with the wisdom of one who has done with raging, he speaks and acts like a man ready for fulfilment at long last.

He has led Sussex to something tangible, in National League promotion, and persuaded many who doubted him that he now has the maturity to go with a talent that was obvious in his teens but tarnished by controversy in his twenties. Now a place in England's middle order is his for the taking, and he has prepared with a passion.

Shortly before the touring team departed for South Africa, I watched him complete an intensive two-hour session in the indoor net at Hove, then decamp to his local gym for an afternoon of fitness work. This was his regular October routine, a tough and dedicated one, but the coffee break gave him time to relax, reflect and reveal an altered approach to the high ambitions that drive him so hard.

Ups and downs: Adams wins with Sussex above but struggles for England

`I'm philosophical now,' he said. `I saw something of how I had been in James Kirtley, when he was left out of the A tour. He was completely devastated but I told him that no matter what you do, there is no God-given right to be picked for your country. You can't just keep saying I'm better than him and he's got my spot. James got on the tour eventually and I know what it meant to him. But I also know what he went through beforehand.'

The Adams affair has polarised opinion, like most things that originate within the walls of Derbyshire CCC. If there is no blood on those walls, there is certainly a great deal of grazed skin, for it is a club that cannot seem to exist without strife. Adams was at the centre of it for some years. He wanted to leave, Derbyshire insisted he must stay. People drew their own opinions of his motives, and greed was mentioned more than once, but his driving force was always to play his cricket in a more congenial, supportive – and, yes, rewarding – environment.

`I said at the time that I'd wasted six years at Derbyshire. I was pretty bitter about everything but I probably regret saying that now. Derbyshire is a very mixed-up county and it's stayed that way long after I left. One bloke, Kim Barnett, basically took over the club, became the Godfather of Derbyshire cricket, and if that caused problems while he was there it must also have caused problems when he left.

`I don't feel resentful any more. By right, I should have made more progress at Derby, should have gone on England A tours, but maybe that was as much to do with me as the county. What I would hate to have missed is the year and a half I had under Dean Jones, because that was the turning point for me. He's still my mentor, a great mate, and he has been on the phone with advice about the tour. I honestly believe that without his influence I'd have ended up being thought of as talented but unfulfilled.'

This is your captain speaking: Adams in charge at Hove

When Adams finally secured his release, two years ago, he found a Pandora's box opening for him. `I could have gone anywhere,' he said with disarming immodesty. `But it came down to three – Kent, Notts and Sussex. I really wanted to play for England and everyone was telling me to go to a bigger club, like Notts, or one with lots of international players, like Kent. But there was something about this place, something drawing me here.'

The cynical view is that the draw was the fattest salary on the county circuit, along with the sponsored Mercedes. But that is to underestimate the man. He weighed up the passion of Tony Pigott, now departed after some dynamic years in the chief executive's chair, the imminent arrival of Dave Gilbert and the promise of other top signings. `I wasn't even offered the captaincy at first – Shane Warne was due to be doing that.'

But Warne didn't come, Adams won instant elevation and, he confesses, instant dizziness. `For my first six weeks, I was all over the place. I was rushing everything, my passion and desire leading me in too many different directions.' There were people, he knew, wondering if Sussex had invested rashly. `But I was getting runs, which was vital, and then I got picked for England's one-dayers against South Africa, which was timely in terms of earning the respect I needed.'

 EXCEPT THAT his performances achieved quite the opposite. `I did myself no justice whatever. Absolutely zero,' he said forlornly into his cappuccino. `It was an amazing feeling walking out to bat in the first one at The Oval. I thought This is England, this is it. then I struggled like hell for a scrappy 25 and got out to an awful shot just when I began to feel settled.'

The second game was no better. `My nerves were worse then. I was shunted down the order for various reasons and I didn't cope well with that. When I got in, it just wasn't me. I was unnatural. There were a lot of verbals going on between Alec Stewart and the opposition and I never settled.'

 Adams was left out of the third game, compassionately as much as anything, and returned to Sussex feeling sorry for himself. `I knew what would happen. It had taken me years to climb to the head of the queue but when you don't do the business you tend to go right to the bottom again. It's like snakes and ladders. I did get low about it, too. it took me three or four weeks to pull myself round.'

It was another Australian, Michael Bevan, who helped him out of this crisis. Bevan was Sussex's overseas player in 1998 and is to return next year, not least on the wishes of the captain. `He was in a similar situation to me, in that he couldn't pin down a Test place. He kept telling me to clear my mind of everything else and just concentrate on the best bits of my own game. Eventually, he got through.

`Bev is the ultimate professional, a real team player. He cops a lot of flak – for instance, he won't sign autographs during a game. He'll sign as many as you like afterwards but by then he has already upset loads of people who think he's an unpleasant bloke. But I always want him in my dressing-room. Michael Di Venuto has been a great bloke and a wonderful player for us this year but we'll be so much better with Bev back. We were born two days apart, we read from the same script and just complement each other.'

Even without Bevan, Sussex won the second-division championship in the National League this year. Already, Adams senses the affection that so many feel for his second county, and fully appreciates the reasons why. Sometimes, though, he wishes the following was just a little less passive.

`I'm disappointed we haven't managed to generate more support. When we played a semi-final at Bristol this year, I really envied the passion they'd got behind them. It's something we don't have down here. Even on a Sunday it doesn't come alive, not even a ripple, until the game is virtually won. Historically, I'm told, it's always been like that.

`Many Sussex members are happy as long as they see four days of quality cricket. It almost doesn't matter to them whether we win or lose. Against Warwickshire last year, we were ten minutes away from saving the game and we got a standing ovation for losing. I'd rather have won in two days.'

 ADAM'S WIFE, Samantha, has joined us in the coffee bar now, and their younger daughter, one year old, perches prettily with a bag of crisps. It reminds him of the things he does enjoy about Sussex. `Quality of life,' he said simply. `The family like it down here, which is half the battle. Samantha insisted we all moved down straight away and she was right. It was a huge wrench for her, because our families are still in Derbyshire and she's very close to her mum, but I've seen too many cricketers trying to commute to new counties and it seldom works.'

Samantha has been left to supervise a house move, closer to the cricket ground, while Adams starts out on his long-awaited first tour. Nobody can say he has gone into it blind. `I've completed my preparation with two days with Graham Gooch. He's been helping me for eight months and he is very constructive. He imparts such knowledge and he doesn't try to change your technique or your style, just your approach.

`I watched the South Africans train at Hove before the World Cup and I thought they were very impressive, very bonded. I'm sure they will be formidable but, having said that, they are not the most settled camp right now. Perhaps we're playing them at a good time.

`I've only been to South Africa once, eight winters ago, so I have a lot of the country to experience. In an ideal world, I would be opening myself up to learn as a junior player but we've got a lot of younger batsmen and I think I must put myself above the debutant bracket and give myself credit for the knowledge I've accumulated.

`I'd like to have an input at team meetings, if it's required, but I have no doubt it will be a well-run side. I know Duncan Fletcher reasonably well. He talks my language – a man's man. He doesn't shout but he commands silence when he's talking, a real mark of authority.'

The self-confidence is evident in Adams now. `I was actually surprised not to be picked for the final Test against New Zealand, given the situation. I'd love to have played but it wouldn't have been ideal – there is always more to lose than gain within that scenario. I'd like to think the management recognised that and held me back, because that would be a show of faith in my ability.'

Few doubt his ability. All he has to prove now is that he can transmit it to the elevated stage, with Donald and Pollock bearing down on him from the wings. But he has more chance now because he has found peace of mind, a commodity he regarded as alien territory for far too long.

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