Biography

Matthew Hoggard is a bustling right arm fast-medium bowler who once spearheaded the English attack. For most of his career, he was considered as a Test specialist.

With a strong-built, the Yorkshire seamer possessed workhorse-like energy in him to bowl long spells. His ability to swing the ball away from right-handers once made him a dangerous prospect with the new red cherry. However, it was under the tutelage of the then coach Duncan Fletcher and captain Nasser Hussain, that Hoggard grew in stature and his bowling reached its peak. Making his Test debut in 2000, it took a while for him to settle down, but he quickly adapted to his role in the team. He was England's front-line bowler during their tour to India in 2001-02, and had an impressive winter as he bagged 7 wickets against New Zealand at Christchurch. While flashier team mates continued to steal his limelight, Hoggard quietly rose through the ranks. His moment of glory came in the year 2004, when he took a superb hat-trick against the West Indies, followed by a marvelous 12-wicket haul in South Africa that helped England secure a 2-1 lead in the series. He didn't stop there, and in the summer that followed, he contributed with 9 wickets in England's first Ashes victory after 18 years. In the meanwhile, he became an integral part of his county, Yorkshire, who he went on to serve for 14 long years. He was then released, only to be eventually signed by Leicestershire in 2009, where he was handed the first captaincy of his cricketing career.

“Oggie” was always a limited batsman, but soon turned out to be a reliable nightwatchman for England. 15 wickets against Sri Lanka, 10 against Pakistan, and a seven-wicket haul in the Ashes were just some of his career highlights in the year 2006. But, with too much bowling came gruesome injuries and he was soon sidelined from the team. Hoggard played his last Test against New Zealand in 2008, after which he was dropped from the side, never to be included again.