Adam Hose 266 sends belated retort to Hampshire

Adam Hose provided retribution to Hampshire for snubbing him as a youngster by scoring 266 - the highest ever score by a visiting player at Utilita Bowl.

Top-order batter Hose played for Hampshire at Under 13 and Under 17 levels, having been born and raised on the Isle of Wight, but never progressed into the professional ranks.

He returned with an epic second career Rothesay County Championship hundred during a mammoth 395-run third-wicket stand with acting captain Jake Libby.

Libby scored 137 unbeaten runs of his own on a lifeless wicket with a joyless Kookaburra ball as Worcestershire ended day one on 456 for 3.

Worcestershire have not had a good time batting this season. They came into the match with the fewest batting bonus points (three), had only passed 300 on three previous occasions - twice in their second innings - and only two centuries had been made by their batters.

They also came into this match on the back of a shellacking by Surrey at Visit Worcestershire New Road last week.

By the end of the day, they had four more batting points, two more centuries, and well over 100 runs more than they had managed in two innings against the defending champions.

Libby, once again leading in place of the injured Brett D'Oliveira, couldn't wait to bat having won the toss.

Despite some morning overheads, the air was warm, the pitch looked flat, and the Kookaburra ball was expected to offer next to no assistance to the bowlers.

All that proved correct - and the number of centuries would be doubled by 19:00 BST - but not until Hampshire had a little glint of optimism.

New Zealander Henry Nicholls was tested outside his off-stump throughout his runless 12-ball innings, before chasing a wide James Fuller delivery to edge behind.

Kashif Ali was punchy in his 44 off 38 balls, and particularly tucked into Scott Currie, before he was lbw stumbling over a straight delivery from Fuller.

At 60 for 2, things felt even, but from then, and for the next five-and-a-half hours, it was anything but.

The sunbathing crowd - including a gathering of past Hampshire players including Barry Richards and oldest living Hampshire cricketer Dennis Baldry - had just Libby's stoicism and Hose's perpetual run scoring to watch.

Once Hose found his rhythm, he bypassed each one of Hampshire's plans with gusto.

A short-pitch effort, saw pulls and hooks to the boundary. A defensive idea with an umbrella field saw punchy drives down the ground. Everything Hampshire's beleaguered bowlers tried resulted in runs for Hose.

Other than an incredibly tricky short leg chance on 69, he raced through the milestones - 50 in 74 balls, 100 in 126, 150 in 178, 200 in 208 and 250 in 240.

The more runs he got, the harder and further he hit the ball - one of his seven sixes causing injury to a spectator some 10 rows back at long on.

Hose was eventually dismissed on 266 - scuffing the ball to gully to give debutant Dom Kelly his first Championship wicket - in the penultimate over of the day.

His score surpassed the 243 scored by Phil Jaques for Yorkshire on this ground in 2004, and sat just one run behind Zak Crawley's marathon for England and John Crawley and Michael Carberry's triple-centuries in scores by anyone at the Bowl.

Hose did play one first-team match for Hampshire, a non-first-class three-day game against Cardiff MCCU - ironically, one of his opponents in that fixture was Libby.

With him on this occasion, runs flowed like a tap.

Libby isn't one for showy shots, at his best when he occupies the crease - he has the second longest County Championship innings by minutes to his name to demonstrate his stickability.

He offered the Hampshire bowlers even less hope than Hose, scoring at his own pace to reach his second ton of the campaign in 219 deliveries.

"It has been a great day," Hose said. "We have had a tough couple of months from a group and batting perspective so to have a big partnership with Jake and score some runs was a satisfying feeling.

"In the past, I have gone into my shell and put a higher price on my wicket as opposed to today, I just saw the ball and reacted with my natural instincts. Fortunately, today it worked.

"It was my first double-hundred so it's cool getting the runs here. It is a long time since I left this club as a teenager, so there isn't much on that front. It is about trying to put as much pressure on with the bat as we know it could potentially be a tough couple of days with the ball."