Some consolation fireworks courtesy of Adam Hose gave Worcestershire fans something to cheer about on day four of their County Championship defeat to Surrey.
Hose performed well in the fourth morning, before Surrey brought the game to a close with a splendid innings that saw them win by five runs at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
Worcestershire resumed on 207-5 and lost Matthew Waite quickly to an lbw as he tried to work Sean Abbott on the leg side.
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Dan Lawrence was up next with the ball in hound, taking Tom Taylor who played the shot back to the spinner and edged through to Surrey skipper Rory Burns at first slip.
Hose put his head down, opting for a defensive shift with the bat, scoring just seven runs in the first hour.
Surrey all-rounder Jordan Clark claimed his fourth wicket from Ben Allison, before Adam Finch went lbw to a ball of a full length from Dan Worrall.
Before the ninth wicket Hose went hell for leather against Clark, hitting three fours and a six in one over as he reached his half-century.
Clark finally bowled him out for 64 as Hose attempted a ramp shot, which saw Surrey at last claim victory after a late scare.
Speaking on Hose's heroics, Worcestershire head coach, Alan Richardson, said: "They bowled very well at Adam.
"He soaked up that pressure brilliantly well.
"He defended very straight and played the ball on a merit and batted for a long period of time.
"Towards the end the situation changed and he showed what he can do as well.
"It is great for Adam he spent some time at the crease."
Richardson continued: "We were never quite at the races in giving ourselves a chance to compete.
"When we conceded 490, on what was a pretty good wicket, it always put us behind.
"We needed a really good effort in the second innings to make sure we weren’t too far behind and we were, and that put a lot of pressure on us in that third innings."
He concluded: “Over the last three games, we haven’t done as well.
"(In the) First five games, we got a lot of batting points and played in partnerships.
“We haven’t given ourselves a chances to do that in these last three games.”
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