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Matthew Hoggard Appreciation Thread

James

James

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Keep seeing this guy's name pop up all over the internet. Everyone seems to like him. By all accounts a fantastic bloke and was a bit of a good bowler too. Would love to know if anyone here has met him. It has recently emerged that he was a sufferer of depression several years ago, which contributed to the premature curtailing of his career. If you are reading this sir I wish you all the best :) All hail Hoggy!

Matthew Hoggard has more test wickets than Harmison, Flintoff, S.Jones and Anderson despite often being less celebrated than all of them! Check out some of this shaggy-haired appealing, banana swing and stump-splattering!! Personal favourite is the Jacques Rudolph clip at the bottom :D

[utube]2ygC4S9JhKI[/utube]

[utube]N7Q1-pnx9sI[/utube]

[utube]lLvhyylEt_I[/utube]

[utube]K-0VOdlz62Q[/utube]

[utube]oCoONdE0loA[/utube]

[utube]BXbKULEy3XI[/utube]

PS anyone else miss Bob Willis on commentary? :rondu
 
This guy is probably the best swing bowler in England at the moment, I would rate him higher than even Anderson, Hoggard was an amazing bowler and a funny character due to his hair, cigar style etc etc.

I certainly miss him in England's kit as he is more deserving than likes of Finn, Plunkett etc
 
a gem of a bowler, I'd say a gem and a half.

had the perfect action for a swing bowler, used to get the most lovely outswingers and gradually become a brilliant, thinking bowler.

even more admirable was how he realised his limitations, and bravely took on the role of stock bowler and allowed the likes of Harmison and Flintoff to bowl around him.

some of his performances in India and SL are testament to his class and strength of character.
 
good stuff lads, but can't find the 6-fer in Nagpur anywhere :(

he always seemed to get class players out.
 
^ man I can't even find footage of the Mumbai Test where India got Udal'ed.

bloody BCCI must have purged all record of it! :kapil
 
Never knew he suffered from depression, hope he is better now.

Those videos perfectly illustrate his enourmous skill to swing the ball. How lethal was his outswinger to right handers and inswinger to lefties? Unplayable. It was a massive shock when he was dropped in NZ because he was still a great test bowler but if he was ill then fair enough.
 
AZ said:
^ man I can't even find footage of the Mumbai Test where India got Udal'ed.

bloody BCCI must have purged all record of it! :kapil
Click to expand...

not quite. got that test on DVD! Hour and a half highlights of Sachin getting Noodled, Dhoni skying to Monty twice and Dravid scoring 9 off 60 balls :)
 
KingKhanWC said:
Never knew he suffered from depression, hope he is better now.

Those videos perfectly illustrate his enourmous skill to swing the ball. How lethal was his outswinger to right handers and inswinger to lefties? Unplayable. It was a massive shock when he was dropped in NZ because he was still a great test bowler but if he was ill then fair enough.
Click to expand...

Michael Waugh didn't know he was depressed and dropped him based on form. Things might have been different if the illness didn't always have such a stigma attached to it. The situation helped the emergence of Anderson but it is/was a massive shame for Hoggy.
 
Whippy said:
Michael Waugh didn't know he was depressed and dropped him based on form. Things might have been different if the illness didn't always have such a stigma attached to it. The situation helped the emergence of Anderson but it is/was a massive shame for Hoggy.
Click to expand...

I remember the series well where Siddebottom took 7fer in one innings. Hoggard had one bad game and then was dropped which I thought was harsh and so did Hoggard I recall. It would have been nice for him to go out on a high.
 
and just 6 months later they picked Darren Pattinson as 3rd seamer and got lamped by South Africa at Headingley, one of the more swing-friendly grounds in the country. Madness!
 
:))) One of the craziest selections in the history of English cricket. Hoggard would have ripped through them in his home conditions.
 
PS search Test Match Special podcast archive and see if you can find Michael Vaughan's investigation into depression in cricket. Very moving section on the Hoggster that features the two men talking frankly face-to-face.
 
He was an exceptional swing bowler and doesn't get the credit he deserves, sadly. The manner of his exclusion was harsh, certainly deserved a better farewell.

Loved his comment after being left out of the squad for the second Test against SA in 2008 (in which Darren Pattinson was picked instead. :facepalm:).

Most of my career has been a high point, even the low points I look back on and say: 'That's me in a England shirt"
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What a man. :14:
 
He's one bowler that I as a Pakistani fan will never forget. I don't know why but I've always liked him despite him and Harmison making Pakistan's batsmen look like a bunch of fools out there on the pitch.

Hoggard fit's in the category of art - he was a complete artistic bowler, his action and the way he swung the ball both ways made his wicket taking deliveries and deliveries in general simply beautiful.

He's the captain of Leicestershire and I always try and hope that he does his level best for his county side, one player I will always respect and one player I will never forget, Matthew Hoggard :14: :14: :14:

<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BXbKULEy3XI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>​
 
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I wasn't watching cricket while Hoggard was playing so I only know him by reputation

Why doesn't he play anymore? Somone please shed a light on that
 
He was harshly dropped in 2008 after the NZ tour.

Theo14--I was JUST gonna write "artistic bowler, as Theo14 would say"--but then you came and posted. Lol, he swung it beautifully and seamed it nicely. I enjoyed watching the fella.

As AZ has said his "salt-of-the-earth" attitude is also nice, poor fella was the anchor of England's bowlers for many a long year.
 
I find it absolutely bizzare this guy was dropped after one bad test match that too after coming back from a lengthy injury layoff, he had a great track record and had been a good servant to English Cricket. He could easily have played for 3-4 years, he would have been a perfect partner for Anderson on seaming English Conditions.
 
Loved his batting too. A bit eccentric looking but all interesting english cricketers are.
 
A top top test bowler and if the swing was there, he could get any batsman in the world out.

It is a shame how he's not appreciated enough though.
 
Why is every English cricketer depressed? Why does it rain there every day of the week? Why do their players whine about packed schedules whereas Australia and India don't have a problem with tighter ones? Why why why...................

How did their empire manage to rule us for 200 years?
 
The cover drive for 4, off a 90mph Brett Lee full toss at Trent Bridge, with 8 runs to get and 3 wickets left!

Giles - I couldn't have done it without Hoggy and the great extra cover drive.
Mark Nicholas - Hoggy, how does it feel to win a test match for England?
Hoggard - I don't think I won the test match, I thought Giles played really well and I thought the whole team played really well.

:heart:
 
He was good and probably the best bowler out of Flintoff, Harmison etc, but I think the praise he seems to be getting on here is a bit over the top. Good bowler, though not brilliant. Certainly wasn't among the best bowlers in his time.

I think Anderson and Tremlett when they've finished their careers, will be remembered as better bowlers.
 
PS how do the Aussies have a tighter schedule than England? They're currently bang in the middle of a 5 month holiday!
 
He was dropped because the selectors thought he'd lost some of his nip, and fresh blood was needed.

Pattison getting selected over him at Headingly was a disgrace.
 
Had a good career for someone who was just keeping Caddicks place in the test side warm :yk
 
Harmison and Hoggard were both dropped after the NZ Test. Harmison returned. Hoggard didn't. Harsh.
 
Hoggy was a real old-fashioned English swing bowler who would bust a gut for his team - the best since Ian Botham. He performed well all over the world. When it didn't swing, he turned into a stock bowler and kept it tight for his team-mates.

He was dispensed with too early.
 
Something in my mind says that English selectors have a stigma attached with pretty boys where they would get a longer run in the team in spite of not-so-world-beating performances. Now the more monumental question is why do I feel that? :ibutt
 
I always had the impression that he had more variations than other English bowlers. He always looked like working for a wicket. I mean setting up chance of a wicket by consistent varying bowling for few overs and batsmen fell in his trap.

Best wicket that I remember. He was troubling Sehwag for quite some time in many matches and when Sehwag came in a test match with idea of being cautious to short balls, Hoggy removed him by a slow ball pitched up which Sehwag played into the hands of cover fielder.
 
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my favorite english bowler, alongside darren gough. amazing control of his away swing.cant believe how underated he is compared tothelikes of harmison, flintoff etc. fighter of a player. only problem with him was when the ball didn't swing much like anderson today he could be ineffective at times. but on the swinging conditions best bowler to have.
 
apart from his fine bowling ...he was one english bowler who remained relatively injury free as compared to his more fame hungry partners. Again his temprament on the dead subcontinent tracks was awesome and am very much surprised to hear about his depression. Says a lot about his character that despite this he performed well home and away
 
Sanchez said:
Something in my mind says that English selectors have a stigma attached with pretty boys where they would get a longer run in the team in spite of not-so-world-beating performances. Now the more monumental question is why do I feel that? :ibutt
Click to expand...

Steve Davies was gay wasn't he? :)))
 
Bump. Was looking for a thread for this man. Always felt that he was a grossly underappreciated English bowler and was underrated even in THAT English attack of Jones/Harmison/Flintoff/Giles. Do PPers remember him and his swing bowling?
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Bump. Was looking for a thread for this man. Always felt that he was a grossly underappreciated English bowler and was underrated even in THAT English attack of Jones/Harmison/Flintoff/Giles. Do PPers remember him and his swing bowling?
Click to expand...

Of course. His swing bowling vs an ATG Aus team was unforgettable. Very good bowler.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
Bump. Was looking for a thread for this man. Always felt that he was a grossly underappreciated English bowler and was underrated even in THAT English attack of Jones/Harmison/Flintoff/Giles. Do PPers remember him and his swing bowling?
Click to expand...

Yes I do. An honest hard working new ball bowler.

The BBC did a study and found of his 248 Test wickets, 28% had a career batting average of more than 45.

That's higher than Anderson and Botham.
 
Markhor said:
Yes I do. An honest hard working new ball bowler.

The BBC did a study and found of his 248 Test wickets, 28% had a career batting average of more than 45.

That's higher than Anderson and Botham.
Click to expand...

Hmm that confirms what i'd always thought about his ability to remove the top batters in the opposition. Would run in and bowl more overs too to keep the genuine quicks fresh. Quality player.
 
I remember him as true workhorse and he had a mean outswinger as well.
 
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