Adam Hose believes Chris Benjamin's match-turning Vitality Blast innings against Durham at Edgbaston yesterday was "up there with the best."
Adam Hose believes Chris Benjamin’s match-turning Vitality Blast innings against Durham Dynamos at Edgbaston yesterday was “up there with the best.”
For the second successive game, Hose and Benjamin allied to great effect in the Bears’ middle order as they followed their stand of 98 from 42 balls at Derby last Friday with 85 from 42 to power their side to a five-wicket win over Durham.
Their alliance against Durham was all the more impressive as it grew from a position of high pressure, as the pair came together with the Bears struggling on 36 for four, chasing 158.
Benjamin’s dazzling counter attack of 68 not out in 36 balls, his T20 best, turned a difficult, uphill quest into a canter to victory.
At one stage, he hit successive balls for 444614464, with Hose at one point visibly applauding his colleague for a delicate chopped four to third man amid the blitz of big straight and leg-side hitting.
“It was beautiful batsmanship,” Hose said. “He showed his power and then showed a touch of class with that run down to the third man when the ball wasn’t right in the slot.
“If he keeps going like that he’s going to have a fantastic tournanent for us.
“All credit to the way Benj played. He played with great intent and quality. I’ve been out there batting with a lot of special players and some special innings but that was up there with the best. He hit the ball very cleanly, showed no fear and got us into a great position.
“We didn’t get the ideal start to the chase but the great thing about our squad this year is the really good character in it. We showed it at Derby with the ball and yesterday we showed it with the bat. We were under a little bit of pressure but me and Benji managed to put a bit of a partnership together.
“Now we are all looking forward to the Leicestershire game on Thursday. It will be good to get a couple of days without a game – you can train all you like for T20 but the amount of running in the games and the intensity hits you like a bit of a truck, so we’ll be resting up and maybe doing a bit of light training, then be ready to go again against the Foxes.”
