Hogg thrilled with MCG performance
Brad Hogg relishes the challenge of bowling to Sourav Ganguly, India's best batsman over the last 12 months, as well as his first Test victim
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
31-Dec-2007
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Brad Hogg relishes the challenge of bowling to Sourav Ganguly, India's
best batsman over the last 12 months. Ganguly was Hogg's first Test victim, back in
1996 in Delhi, and he was thrilled to have dismissed him in both innings in
Melbourne.
"Ganguly was my first Test and international wicket and it was good to get him out
in his 100th Test match," Hogg said. "And to get him out twice was pleasing but at
the end of the day we have another Test match, so I have to be on my game to do the
same thing."
Hogg nailed Ganguly with a flipper in the first innings, skidding on to the stumps,
and induced a close-in catch in the second. Not only did Hogg ably support the
fast bowlers, with four wickets in the big win, but also silenced doubters about his
ability to bowl to India's much-vaunted batting line-up.
Hogg's googly has troubled batsmen in the one-day format but he pulled out the
flipper to surprise India in Melbourne. "I really have not bowled it for the past
couple of years," Hogg said of his flipper. "A couple of the boys have told me to
put it in my locker. It is just one of those things I thought if there is a moment
that I might just try it in a game and it just happened that it worked, so yeah if
you have got it you might as well use it as the saying goes."
Hogg said he viewed the MCG opportunity as a chance to fill Stuart MacGill's shoes
but went on to suggest that he was ready to take his spot. "But you never know what
is going to happen down the track," he said. "I could not play tomorrow and play a
year later. I have just come in here and want to lap up every moment as much as
possible and you never know what is around the corner."
Was there any area of his game that he was keen to work on for Sydney? "Patience, I
think. I'm an impatient bloke myself. It's important I bowl with the same patience
that the faster bowlers did. The pitch at Sydney has changed quite a bit. I guess
spinners may have to work a lot harder. It was a bit nerve-wracking in the early
stages in Melbourne. But my batting in the second innings calmed it down a bit.
Nerves are about wanting to do well."
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo