Adam Hose says stepping forward and contributing when the going gets tough is what motivates him the most as a cricketer.
The Worcestershire batter had a satisfying first season at New Road, adjusting to red ball cricket after a three year absence and playing several crucial knocks in Worcestershire’s successful promotion campaign.
Hose produced a superb innings of 84 to help steer Worcestershire to victory against the odds on a challenging pitch against Leicestershire at New Road, after they had been dismissed for 83 in their first innings.
Knocks of 59 and 41 against England pace bowler Ollie Robinson, who picked up 14 wickets in the drawn game versus Sussex, were another demonstration of his ability coming to the fore when it was needed most.
Innings of 85 and 47 from Hose in the return fixture at Hove were also key and played their part in almost seeing Worcestershire to victory after they had set just under 400 on the final day.
He said: “I enjoy and almost thrive upon, situations where the team might need me to step up.
“It is something I take on board in terms of when those moments are needed for the team in whatever format I’m playing.
“I take it on my shoulders to try and steer the team through those difficult stages.
“Just trying to show an element of composure in those moments, and help the team through those difficult patches, is what really motivates me as a cricketer.”
Hose admits that the contribution he makes in terms of helping the team achieve their goals is more important to him than individual statistics.
He said: “Looking back on the season, there were a couple of opportunities where I could have really gone big and got the team into better situations in terms of just scoring bigger hundreds, which I think moving forward into next year is going to be really important.
“But I’m also quite happy and proud of myself for the contribution I made this year in terms of when the team needed me, I feel like I steadied the ship and grafted hard and worked through those difficult patches.
“For me, that is what team sport is all about. It’s not all about the individual accolades and statistics.
“I’ve never been big on that. I’ve been big on how I’ve contributed to the team from a day-to-day point of view and how I’ve helped the team through those difficult moments.
“Throughout different stages this year, I’ve did that.”
Hose was delighted to play in 11 of the County Championship games he was available for before missing the finale against Yorkshire at Headingley with a wrist injury.
He said: “I definitely would have taken that from the start of the season. The goal for the end of our season was to win promotion and we achieved that.
“I look back on the season with some good reflections and good learnings and hopefully as a team we can take that into next year because Division One teams are certainly going to challenge us in different areas and for longer periods of games.”
