I think squad that we have assembled is probably the best squad that I will be part of, says Desert Vipers' Adam Hose

Dubai, UAE (December 13, 2023) – Desert Vipers recruit Adam Hose has said that a renewed focus on red-ball cricket has given him the tools to succeed in white-ball action – including in the upcoming ILT20.

The batter made the shift from English county Warwickshire to near-neighbours Worcestershire for the 2023 UK summer with the express intention of playing first-class cricket again, having not been involved in long-form action for the previous three summers.

Explaining the motivation behind the shift, Adam told the Vipers Voices podcast: “I made the move with the sole focus to play more red-ball cricket which I think is fundamental for white-ball cricket as well.

“The majority of top players that you speak to will say that the fundamental of batting is effectively to spend as much time as you can in the middle and red-ball cricket will only help (me with) that.

“I wanted that time out in the middle, and although white ball cricket is my forte I have always grown up enjoying and wanting to play Test cricket. To be back playing red-ball cricket was something I was initially striving for and to have it moving into this year (of 2023) was really pleasing.”

The shift to becoming an all-format player again paid handsome dividends. Not only was the 31-year-old part of a promotion-winning Worcestershire side in the second division of the English county championship, but he also enjoyed outstanding success in the shorter formats, a prelude to his Vipers bow in the upcoming action in the UAE.

Adam scored 566 first-class runs in 11 matches, as well as making 397 runs at an impressive average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 145.95 in the T20 Blast as Worcestershire reached the quarterfinals. On top of that, he made a further 134 runs in The Hundred for the Northern Superchargers at a strike rate of 147.25.

“To have that promotion with Worcestershire at the end of a long and arduous seven months of cricket was really great from a personal point of view and from a team point of view too. I was really happy,” said Adam.

“I had something in me that I want to contribute as much as I could to red-ball cricket and I was not ready to go down that white ball route just yet. Hopefully, all these things put me in a good place for my white ball cricket.”

When Adam arrives in the UAE to link up with the Desert Vipers he will do so having played in the ILT20 already, having featured in three matches for the Sharjah Warriors in season one. That was as a stand-in for the Warriors’ England players who missed part of that inaugural tournament while they played in South Africa. But even then, as a member of an opposition line-up, he said he found himself drawn to the Vipers.

“I remember looking across as we were training at similar times last year when I was at Sharjah and I remember thinking there was a great atmosphere (among the Vipers squad),” he said.

“I have worked with a few of the coaches, James Foster and Neil McKenzie, and I know Darren Veness very well, the Strength and Conditioning coach, and just the atmosphere around the franchise was just a great buzz, so to be part of that moving forward is one of the things I am really excited about this year.

“I think the squad that we have assembled is probably the best squad that I will be a part of and as a sportsman you want to win stuff so, looking at this team, we should one hundred percent believe that we are very, very capable of winning this competition and that is a huge motivation for me,” he added.

Adam is currently in Australia for a second consecutive season in the Big Bash league with the Adelaide Strikers and he said he had high hopes it would allow him to hit the ground running for the ILT20.

“Last season I literally jumped straight off the plane (from Australia) and into a game (for Sharjah Warriors) which was certainly a challenge,” he said. “I think this year there is a fair bit of time between my last Big Bash game and my first ILT20 game which should give me a bit of time to adjust.

“The pitches (in the UAE) are always pretty good so it should not need too much adjusting, but it is a few months that I am pretty excited about, (playing in) the Big Bash at the Adelaide Oval, one of my favourite cricket grounds in the world and one of the best batting pitches in the world, so fingers crossed I should be in a good place for the ILT20.” 

As for where he wanted to bat for the Vipers, Adam said a top-three berth was not top of his wish list.
“I know a lot of players want to bat at the top of the order (in Twenty20 cricket) whereas I actually enjoy that middle order, and heading into the back end of an innings is where I feel most dangerous,” he said.

“In the last three or four years I have found I really like to bat in that four or five role. I really like it.”
As for the approach Adam would adopt with the Vipers, he said he was crystal clear on what that would be.

“I grew up watching players like Kevin Pietersen, AB de Villiers, and Matthew Hayden, very dominant, positive players who were always looking to get in the front foot, take the game on, and move it forward, and I have always moved towards the innovators of the game,” he said.

“I think from that perspective I like to try and be positive in everything I do, whether it is my running between the wickets or my body language, looking to be dominant against a bowler.

I do not like to talk too much about myself but I look to be fairly dynamic and I always look to think (about) and prioritise what the team might need from me at that point, but also not forgetting my strengths, my strong suits, and not trying to go too far away from those.”

The second edition of the ILT20 gets underway on Friday 19 January and the Desert Vipers’ first match is against the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday 21 January.