Matthew Hoggard

From Cricipedia - The Cricket Encyclopedia!

A tall, broad and bustly bowler, Matthew Hoggard posesses one of the most feared deliveries in test cricket as his stock ball. A genuine outswing opening bowler for both Yorkshire CC and the England national team he uses the pronounced seam and shine of the new ball to test opening batsman techniques and patience with accurate, full pitched swing bowling.

The Beginning

A highly respected player in the county system it was the season of 2000 where Hoggard was seen as the leading light in England's fast bowling stock and was selected for his first test against the West Indies though he failed to claim a wicket he was seen as the next workhorse and swing bowler once Darren Gough retired.

With just two tests under his belt it was up to Hoggard to lead a rather inexperienced test attack on the gruelling tour of India in 00-01. He charged in obediently, where the site of Hoggard trudging to his mark for another over in a long spell became the norm of the winter, though Hoggard was rewarded for a winter of fine bowling with 7/63 against New Zealand at Christchurch were the moving ball prooved to much for the New Zealander's.

The Slump

Hoggard was voted best bowler of the 2002 summer season as England drew with India in the Npower Test series, with his late outswing and slippery pace troubling Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and the other batters of the Indian line-up, Hoggard was seen as the shining light along with Stephen Harmison and Simon Jones who had made their debuts in the series.

But it was the Ashes series of 02-03 in Australia that proved disastrous for both England and Hoggard as injury depleted an already young bowling attack. Hoggard's inswing to the left handers became meat and drink as his inexperience on flat wickets with the ball not swinging was revealed.

To his credit he returned with a snappier run up and a more consistent line to share in the test win at Sydney but it was his omission from the Test series in Kandy where Hoggard was replaced for a like bowler in Kirtley that suggested he wasn't doing his job properly.

The Rise

By his own admission Hoggard took some time to learn his place in the side where the other faster, more destructive bowlers stole his limelight and the credit he deserved. But Hoggard had his limelight when he claimed a test hat-trick on England's tour to the West Indies in 2004. Hoggard became a key member of the pace quartet of Andrew Flintoff, Jones and Harmison that swept all aside in 2004. On the winter tour to South Africa, Hoggard claimed his first test ten-wicket haul bowling England to victory as his devastating spell of swing bowling in the last innings of the match destroyed a much vaunted batting line up.

Singled out as the weak link of an England Ashes attack Hoggard started quietly in 2005 Ashes series, but finished strongly as his orthodox swing became just as valuable as the reverse swing of Flintoff and Jones, and the pace and bounce of Harmison.

Hoggard continued to lead the attack as injury claimed the Ashes winners through the '06 season, taking his 200th test wicket at Lords durng the draw against Sri Lanka. An expensive series against Pakistan where his ten wickets mostly came with the new ball supported the claims that Hoggard was still just a really good swing bowler and not a really good test bowler. Though it was his tiresome effort on the featherbed of Adelaide that showed the world that Hoggard had become a bowler of all conditions where his 7/104 was a shinning light compared to all other figures in the match.

An injury to his back in Melbourne ended his run of 40 test matches in an England shirt and his stop start test season in 2007 saw many people ask if Anderson was needed to replace him. But a burst of 4 wickets on his return to test cricket at Kandy on Englands 07-08 tour of Sri Lanka once again prooved just how valuable Hoggard is to the England test team.