Adam Hose is enjoying his elongated spell of LV=Insurance County Championship action and believes he is a different player now from a mental and technical point viewpoint to when he last regularly played red ball cricket four years ago.
The Worcestershire batter featured in the opening fixture of the season against Derbyshire and has been an ever present for the last seven Championship fixtures.
Hose, in the first season of a three-year contract with Worcestershire, has shown his ability to be able to adapt and perform in the four-day format alongside his superb record in the white ball game.
There have been several crucial knocks, including 59 and 41 against on song England pace bowler Ollie Robinson in the drawn home game with Sussex and a superb last day 84 in the win against the odds over Leicestershire at New Road on a difficult pitch.
Now Hose is gearing up for third placed Worcestershire’s bid to secure a fourth win of the season against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College in what will be his first appearance on the ground at senior level in any format.
Hose said: “From a personal point of view, it’s just really nice to be back playing all formats. As I made clear when I joined Worcestershire, it was a big ambition of mine to play red ball cricket.
“To do that, and feel like I’m contributing is really nice. If I’m being hard on myself, or a bit critical, I’d probably like to have turned one or two scores that I’ve had into bigger ones.
“I think we’ve been in some really good positions over the last few months and we’ve given ourselves chances to win games of cricket.
“We’ve also had some challenging days that we’ve faced full on and come away a lot of the time with a positive result in terms of a good hard fought draw which has shown a lot of character from different individuals and the team.
“It’s nice to be contributing from a personal point of view and hopefully a big score isn’t too far away and hopefully a win this week.”
Hose played 11 Championship matches for Warwickshire during the 2019 season but that was his last action at that level until he moved to New Road.
He said: “I look back at 2019 and I played most of that season with Warwickshire but I feel a bit of a different player now from a mental point of view, in terms of how I approach my cricket, and from a technical point of view as well.
“I feel a lot better player from those experiences and, although as tough as it was at the time, I look back on it with some really good learnings.
“The mindset stuff is probably the biggest challenge you can face as a county batter. The schedule as busy as it is, and flicking back and forth between formats, can be quite tricky.
“But there isn’t a great amount that necessarily changes, at least in my game anyway. I still like to play with good intent in red ball and white ball, whether that is in defence or attack.
“You’ve just got to be more selective and disciplined at times and absorb a bit more pressure and recognise those moments.
“I just try and keep it nice and simple, just try and see the ball and react to what is in front of me, and trust my instincts will take over from there.”
Hose showed in the last home game against Yorkshire that he was able to adapt to the particular challenge in front of him, taking 26 balls to get off the mark but then scoring at virtually a run a ball for the remainder of his knock of 38.
He said: “That is the key really. I’m never wanted to be pigeon-holed as ‘that’s the way he plays’. I just want to adapt to whatever situation is in front of me and that’s all about putting the team first, and thinking what the team needs from you in that moment.
“That is something that is always present with me when I’m out in the middle.”
Hose enjoyed his two duels with Robinson and also producing that crucial last day knock against Leicestershire.
He said: “Ollie Robinson is having a top quality summer and ever since he has come into international cricket he has showed some high quality and high quality skills.
“It was good to be able to test yourself against one of the best red ball bowlers, probably in the world at the moment, and to come away from that game again with a hard fought draw against a good attack was quite pleasing from a team and personal perspective.
“With the Leicestershire game, I look back on that final day as brilliant from the position we were in and to fightback as a side and get that win was probably one of my highlights of the summer.
“They were on the front foot and I was committed that evening and that morning to going out to try and shift that momentum and put us in a position where I gave the team a chance to believe we could win the game.
“I just wanted to go out there and assert a bit of authority and fortunately that day it paid off.
“I would have loved to have been there at the end on three figures but Dolly (Brett D’Oliveira) got us over the line and Rodders (Gareth Roderick) played brilliantly that day and there were handy contributions that day from guys slightly down the order.”
Hose has recognised the importance of this three-game period against Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Gloucestershire ahead of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup before the Championship resumes in September.
He said: “Whoever grabs the bull by the horns, and recognises that the quickest, will find themselves in a positive position come the start of September.”
Hose will then link up with the Northern Superchargers for The Hundred before returning for the climax of the Championship campaign.
He said: “I haven’t thought too much about it so far but I really enjoyed it last year, the environment and the team, the Superchargers, so it is definitely a month I’m looking forward too, for sure.”
