Adam the Stump Guy breaks silence over viral Sheffield Shield final video

The man captured in a viral video trying to pinch a stump at the end of SA’s Sheffield Shield win – then put in a headlock by security – has revealed the 29-year reason behind the act.

The man at the centre of a failed attempt to grab a stump after SA’s historic Sheffield Shield victory on the weekend has revealed it was not his first time raiding the pitch for a post-win souvenir.

The cricket lover - who was captured in a viral video in headlock by a security guard as he tried to get away with a stump - said the pitch invasion was a planned attempt to add to his cricket final memento collection after successfully walking away with a stump in 1996 when SA last won the final.

A security guard grapples with Adam the fan at the Sheffield Shield final. Picture: 7NEWS

Fans storm the oval after SA won the Shield title during the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval, on March 29, 2025, in Adelaide, Australia. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

The man appeared on FIVEAA breakfast radio on Wednesday, identified only as Adam the Stump Guy, and said he had waited 29 years to scale the fence and try to add to his collection.

“That was a big part of the motivation as the years have gone on, separated by a big 29-year gap between the stumps, it has become something I’ve wanted more and more,” he told FIVEAA’s David and Will.

“(I thought) if we win this, I’m definitely going to try and grab a stump.

Adam recalled the magic of the 1996 final and said the crowd was huge.

“The first one back in ‘96, that was an incredible day – I was at uni with a few mates, that was a game we couldn’t win … such an incredible WA team, Julian, Angel, Hogg, Gilchrist, Martin, Lager, all these great Australian cricketers,” he said.

SA hung on to draw the match and be crowned shield champions after finishing on top of the table.

“It was such an exciting day, we got down there, the crowd built and we were counting down balls with about 20 overs to go,” he said of the tense finish.

He said he was quickly onto the field with 1000s of others in 1996 and went straight for a stump and security weren’t interested in protecting the prized souvenirs.

However, that was not the case at Karen Rolton Oval on Saturday, with footage showing an SRS Security guard wrestling the stump out his hands amid a crowd of spectators.

“I didn’t expect it, when I sort of ran across to the crowd there was a bunch of people right there so I couldn’t hurdle (the fence) or I’d run straight into people, and it sort of didn’t stop him (jumping) straight into them all,” Adam said.

“I’m a cricket lover, I’m a pacifist, he might be more MMA (mixed martial arts).”

SA celebrate the Shield win and Brendan Doggett of South Australia being named player of the match during the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval, on March 29, 2025, in Adelaide, Australia. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images)

He said he wasn’t hurt in the scuffle.

“I’m fine, I’m probably lucky I’m not slight, I’m a pretty big boy.

“I’m a cricket lover, a spectator, I gave it a crack, it didn’t work out my way.

And, Adam said he understood the players earned the right to keep it.

“If one of the players from ‘96 desperately wanted a stump and didn’t have one I’d have no issue giving it up, they are the guys who earnt it but I was the first spectator to earn it,” he said with a laugh.

So what does Adam do with the stump now?

It sits in his son’s room, who has also become a cricket lover, among trophies.

And, a bail from the 1996 final sits in the glove box his Kombi fan.

Originally published as Adam the Stump Guy breaks silence over viral Sheffield Shield final video