Brad Hogg

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	Tests	ODIs
Brad Hogg Australia (Aus)

Batting style	Left hand bat
Bowling type	Slow left arm chinaman
Matches	4	100
Runs scored	38	700
Batting average	9.50	21.21
100s/50s	-/-	-/2
Top score	17*	71*
Balls bowled	774	4449
Wickets	9	123
Bowling average	50.22	28.14
5 wickets in innings	-	2
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	2/40	5/32
Catches/stumpings	-/-	29/-
As of March 26, 2007 Source: Cricinfo.com

George Bradley Hogg (born February 6, 1971 in Narrogin, Western Australia), known as Brad Hogg, is an Australian cricketer. He is primarily a left arm chinaman bowler, although he is a handy left-handed batsman as well and is an excellent fielder. His international career would have been a brief footnote in history, had it not been for Shane Warne's absence from cricket in 2003 due to suspension from a drugs test, and subsequent retirement from one-day cricket.

Hogg originates from Western Australia, where he has been a member of the State team since 1994. He originally entered the lineup as a batsman, but has since developed his bowling skills. He has an excellent googly, better known as a Wrong'un in Australia, and a well-disguised flipper, which he used to bowl Andy Flower, who was then considered to be one of the world's best at playing spin bowling^{[citation needed]}, during the 2003 World Cup. In his book, Walking to Victory, Adam Gilchrist described it as "one of the balls of the tournament." ^[1]

In 1996, he joined the Australian team to tour India to replace Warne (who was injured). He made his Test debut against India in Delhi, taking 1/69 and making 1 and 4. He also played seven One-day International matches. However, the belief at the time was that he was merely a place-holder for Warne, and he was discarded from international calculations for some time. Hogg was also in and out of the Western Australian squad for the next few years as he struggled to come to terms with unsympathetic pitches and poor returns with the ball.

Hogg was absent from the international scene until called up to replace Warne during the 2002/2003 VB Series (an annual tri-nations one day tournament in Australia) after Warne injured his shoulder. However, Warne then tested positive to a banned diuretic in a pre-World Cup drugs test, leaving Hogg to play as Australia's specialist spinner in Australia's Cup winning side and has filled that role since, due to Warne's retirement from the one day game.

Hogg was recalled to the Australian Test team to tour the West Indies in April 2003, where he played two matches (making his wait between his first and second Tests the longest for an Australian). He also played against Zimbabwe at the SCG later that year, but was upstaged by part-time chinaman bowler Simon Katich, who took 6/90 for the match (Hogg took 3/119). He was left out of the Test team in 2004 but remains in the national one day team as the preferred spinner to Stuart MacGill. In 2005/06 he became a one-day only player with Western Australian selectors preferring to play young spinner Beau Casson ahead of Hogg in the state's Pura Cup side. However, with Casson's move to New South Wales in 2006/07, Hogg has regained his place in the first-class side.

Bradley Hogg is given to extreme displays of pleasure after taking a wicket. In one match against the New Zealand Black Caps, he followed up a wicket by pumping his fist repeatedly towards the ground, almost as if operating a chainsaw.

Hogg's highest international score is 71 not out against England, and his best bowling figures in an innings are 5/32 against the West Indies. Hogg also works as a postman for Australia Post, and is a noted fitness fanatic.^{[citation needed]}

Hogg is an old boy of Aquinas College, Perth.

[edit] References

^ Gilchrist, Adam (2003). Walking to Victory. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, 133. ISBN 0-7329-1138-9.

[edit] External links

Brad Hogg at Cricinfo

Australia squad - 2007 Cricket World Cup

Brett Lee was named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament

Australia squad - 2003 Cricket World Cup

Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne and Shane Watson were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament

Persondata
NAME	Hogg, George Bradley
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 6, 1971
PLACE OF BIRTH	Narrogin, Western Australia
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH