In quest of next KP, Warwickshire find Hose
MUMBAI:England may have done away with Kevin Pietersen in one of the most bizarre ways, but the quest to find the next ‘KP’ — a maverick player oozing with batting prowess may not have ended yet.
And if former England spinner, coach and current Warwickshire cricket director Ashley Giles is to be believed, the team has found a player who has ‘attributes very similar to KP’.
Warwickshire’s recent signing from Somerset — 24-year-old Adam Hose — has reminded Giles of Pietersen who he says is a ‘hairs up on the back of your neck sort of player’.
Pietersen had announced a few days ago that his career in England was over after his team Surrey crashed out from the ongoing domestic T20 competition.
Warwickshire are currently gearing up to take on Glamorgan in the semifinal of the NatWest T20 Blast and Hose is being touted as the one to watch out for.
Ever since his arrival at Warwickshire, Hose has plundered runs in all matches and that too at an alarming rate for his opponents.
It was his innings of 76 off 43 balls that put Warwickshire on path to a place in the business end of the tournament with a win over Lancashire, against whom he scored another sturdy innings of 49 off 35 balls. Against Surrey, Hose hammered 36 off a mere 15 balls to propel Warwickshire in the semifinals.
Giles was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail, “It’s early days but he is a hairs up on the back of your neck sort of player. Some of the shots he hits, some of his attributes are very similar to KP’s (below). He is the same sort of size, has long levers, hits the ball out in front of himself well, and hits it miles when he gets in.”
“There’s every chance we have got a bit of a golden nugget here. He’s done it the tough way but we are delighted to have him,” he added.