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October 14, 2009
What has Matthew Hoggard done wrong?
What has Matthew Hoggard done wrong?
Matthew Hoggard comes across as a funny, down to earth, reliable and respected man. On top of this, he was a fantastic international cricketer in his day and is still a very, very handy county player. So what has he done wrong to be treated so badly by club and country in recent times?
Let me explain a little bit first what I am talking about. After being off the pace somewhat for ONE test match during England’s tour to New Zealand in March 2008, Hoggard was dropped from the team for the rest of the series and following summer. This, in itself, wasn’t that unexpected.
However, Hoggard never got a re-call (unlike Steve Harmison who got chance after chance to impress) and was basically cast aside by the England selectors.
Speaking about his lack of appearances for England at the time, he said that his contact with the ECB ‘had been zero’ and that it ‘breaks his heart’ how he lost his place in the squad. The quote “One minute I was sixth on England's all-time list of wicket-takers, the next I was told I'd lost my central contract and I was completely out on my ear” sums it up quite nicely.
Looking back, he was treated poorly. He always gave his all for England and more often than not this was with success. So why on earth wasn’t he given an explanation?
To make matters worse, the same thing has now happened for Hoggard with his County. He has been released from his contract with Yorkshire County Cricket clubdespite being the team’s leading wicket-taker and taking a hat-trick against Sussex only a few weeks ago.
The club have said that Hoggard turned down a contract to stay with the County, but he has denied this by saying that he feels ‘disappointed, gutted and angry’ about how he has been treated. According to the 32-year-old, the contract was ‘suddenly off the table”.
So, what on earth has been going on with Hoggard? Is he making a meal out of things? Has he been awkward in his reaction to England and Yorkshire’s actions? Something funny seems to be going on, that’s for sure.
Personally, I am going with the player and saying that he has been badly treated. He seems an honest individual and I don’t think he would come out and make accusations that aren’t true. Not long ago he was England’s opening bowler and one of Yorkshire’s most valuable assets in regards to improving their cricket betting odds.
Now, he will never play for his country again and he is on the hunt for a new County. I will ask it one last time – what has Matthew Hoggard done wrong?
14 Oct 2009 13:00
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Tags: Contract Cricket Ecb England Harmison Hoggard Sack Sport Yorkshire
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April 14, 2009
England ODI player rankings
Steve Harmison – It could be time for the selectors to say ‘sorry Steve, but we have run out of patience’. He seemed to lack rhythm and confidence in this series, both will probably be regained when playing for Durham though. Therefore, he can’t be ruled out of the Ashes. 6/10.
James Anderson – Finally, it seems as though Jimmy has turned himself into a consistently good international bowler. He took nine wickets at 21.11 in the ODI series to complete a pretty decent tour. 8/10.
Stuart Broad – It is obvious to everyone that, along with Anderson, Broad is the future of this England bowling line-up. He performs a very valuable role in this ODI team with the ball. Could do with showing he can perform more consistently with the bat though. 7/10.
Gareth Batty – Why on earth was he selected in the first place? It's a safe cricket bet to make that even he couldn’t believe it. What Adil Rashid achieved from being the water-boy on this tour, I will never know. Only took one wicket in three games. 4/10.
Dimitri Mascarenhas – It seems to me that England don’t have enough faith in Dimi’s ability. He has been in and out of the team and frequently bats too low in the batting order. Performed admirably in
my opinion, with bat and ball. 7/10.
So, there you have it. England’s players all rated after their performances in the ODI series against West Indies. It was far from perfect and it still remains very unclear as to what the best team is, but a series win is a series win.
There are still plenty of questions to be answered ahead of an extremely busy summer though. Who will be coach? Who will captain the Twenty20 team? Who bats at No.3? Who is going to be the No.1 spinner? Along with Anderson, Broad and Flintoff, who is going to complete the seam attack?
We should get a lot of answers in the next couple of weeks. Then, when the test series against West Indies gets underway we should have a much better idea about how England will shape up in the Ashes later this year.
By Thomas Rooney – A sports writer who blogs about England cricket
14 Apr 2009 10:53
| Tags: Anderson Batty Bowler Captain Cricket Dimi England Harmison Mascarenhas Performance Players Rashid Selectors Spin Sport
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