A left-handed opening batsman, he succeeded Brian Close as captain in 1978, and he led the county to their first ever trophies, the Gillette Cup and the John Player League, in 1979.
The team was a potent blend of world-class match winners in Ian Botham, Viv Richards and Joel Garner, county professionals and keen youngsters.
Rose made the infamous decision to declare Somerset's innings closed in a 1979 Benson and Hedges Cup zonal match after one over, to ensure their progress through the group on run-rate.
[3] Rose was called up by England for the 1977-8 tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, after a number of players (such as Dennis Amiss, Bob Woolmer and Tony Greig) became unavailable due to their involvement in World Series Cricket.
[5] He developed eye problems, had to return early from the tour of West Indies that year,[6] and batted with glasses for the rest of his career.