Worcestershire Rapids’ Vice-Captain, Adam Hose, put on a brutal display of T20 batting as he smashed 95 from 51 balls to lead his side to a vital win over Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Trent Bridge.
After showing signs of his best with a half-century against Yorkshire in the second group game, Hose propelled his team to an impressive 206-5 at the halfway stage of the match, eventually proving 25 runs too many for Notts in reply.
Despite his outstanding individual contribution, he expressed his delight at how his team bounced back after a tough defeat on Friday night.
“It was an awesome night to be honest. Last night was pretty disappointing and we highlighted a few sort of individual factors at the start of the game, in terms of our attitude in the field.
“We let a few sort of sloppy misfields go and that kind of set the tone for us. So we highlighted that. You know, some days it’s going to come good with bat and ball. That’s fine, but I think we addressed those thing and I think tonight we did that.
“We set the tone. Obviously, not an ideal start, but I think the way Kash played was really brave and he took the game on and got us off to a brilliant start in the power play.”
Kashif Ali and Adam Hose, came together in sensational style as the pair played at their brutal best, adding 72 for the third wicket.
In an innings that lasted 19 overs, Hose plundered seven-fours and six-sixes, showing superb awareness to balance his individual tempo with his various batting partners and the magnificent Hose innings was brought to a close in the 20th over, as he was trapped LBW for 95, agonisingly short of a thoroughly deserved hundred, to a rapturous applause from the travelling fans.
Involved in respective stands of 72 and 79, Hose, experienced big partnerships with Kashif Ali and Ethan Brookes, which ultimately proved vital in the match outcome.
“It’s always a bit of a tricky one to balance when you’re out there, you know, sort of weighing up how good we felt the pitch was, and what sort of par score is. The way Kash played, and then Ethan, it almost took the pressure off me a little bit, to kind of manage the innings, and then sort of explode from maybe 11 or 12 overs onwards.
“Those guys gave us a really good platform, and a lot of the time, I think it’s easy to forget when you’re batting out in the middle, but partnerships are so important.
“Communicating with each other, where one player might have a preference on what’s important or what he suits, and vice versa. So I think with the partnership with both Ethan and Kash, we kind of did that, and fortunately tonight, it paid off.”
“Those guys gave us a really good platform, and a lot of the time, I think it’s easy to forget when you’re batting out in the middle, but partnerships are so important.
“Communicating with each other, where one player might have a preference on what’s important or what he suits, and vice versa. So I think with the partnership with both Ethan and Kash, we kind of did that, and fortunately tonight, it paid off.”
After such a devastating batting display, the Rapids had work to do if they were to secure a second group-stage victory, but the visitors bowlers combined effectively to keep the chase under control throughout.
Wickets were shared amongst the bowlers, with the regular changes of pace and angles from Skipper, Brett D’Oliveira, proving a key factor in the successful defence of 206 on the night.
After the match, Hose, said the Worcestershire bowlers did well to vary their lines and lengths and keep the Outlaws batters guessing, more so than their opponents did during their spells with the ball.
“It’s just something we reflected on at half time. I felt with their bowling, they were maybe a fraction predictable in terms of what they were looking to do, and that kind of plays into the batter’s hands.
“So I’ve said the word a few times tonight, braveness, but I thought we we did that quite well in terms of holding our lines and our lengths, and actually weren’t afraid to get hit to that short side, because you have to keep the batter guessing when you have a slightly short side.
Ben Dwarshuis, starred with his display of death bowling, showing all his class to see the Rapids home as he helped his side to an important win on the road.
“Four overs and took one for 23 tonight. After his first one I went for 10, I think it’s a pretty awesome effort, so we highlighted that in the in the team chat after. Those are what we have overseas for, you know, we get class in, like Ben, and he closes the game out for us.”
