Hoggard: 'It's my biggest challenge'

While England's one-day cricketers were being tonked all around the subcontinent in the ICC Champions Trophy, one key member of the Ashes squad that departs for Australia tonight was enjoying a well-earned break from the grind. In three weeks' time, Matthew Hoggard will be leading England's attack in the first Test at Brisbane, but for the past month he has been quite content to enjoy his home comforts.

Walks across the moors with his dogs, Billy and Molly, home-cooked breakfasts, and best-man duties at Chris Silverwood's wedding have been some of the pleasures he has had to pass his time. "I've actually had quite a few weddings to go to over the past couple of weeks," he told Cricinfo in the hours before his departure. "It's that one time of the season when cricketers can get married, so they always seem to ram them in on top of each other."

It's been an enviably chilled-out time, as his toiling team-mates will doubtless point out as they reconvene this evening. But come Sunday afternoon, when the squad touches down in Sydney, Hoggard knows that he'll need to warm up quickly. "It's going to be a massive challenge," he admitted. "Going over to Australia to take on the best side in the world on their home soil, it's one of the biggest challenges in any cricketer's career.

"It's definitely the biggest thing for me," he added. "The last series [in 2005] was the most exciting series that any of the players on either side had ever played in, and many people say it's the greatest Test series ever played. It could be very hard to live up to the exciting finishes and the tension of those last five games, but I'm sure it's going to be a close-run thing.

"Test cricket is a test of skill, you've got to play well over five days to beat the opposition," added Hoggard, reiterating his stated preference for the longer version of the game. "In one-day cricket you can have an off-day, the other side can have a good day and get a couple of freak dismissals, and you've got yourself an upset. In Test cricket you can pull yourself back into games, even if you can't go on to win them. In one-day cricket there's no way of holding on for the draw."

"It's just a red thing that you wang down the field and hope to land in the right areas" © Getty Images

There was a time, not so long ago, when Hoggard would have been classified as a typical toiling Yorkshire and England seamer; at home at Headingley but at sea when the conditions weren't in his favour. But some of his greatest personal triumphs, from Christchurch to Nagpur via Johannesburg, have come in overseas Tests, using the same Kookaburra balls that will be used in the forthcoming series.

"Everywhere in the world uses Kookaburra balls, every winter we've used a Kookaburra, and I've spent four seasons in South Africa using Kookaburras. I know what to do and know what to expect. At the end of the day, it's just a red thing that you wang down the field and hope to land in the right areas."

For Hoggard, there will be mixed emotions as he arrives back in Australia. On the last tour in 2002-03, uncertain of his role in the side, he toiled on the true Australian wickets and failed to take a wicket in the series opener at Brisbane, where Matthew Hayden in particular took a liking to his offerings. "I find it hard to remember what happened last time," he shrugged. "This time, I'll be going over there a different bowler and hopefully with different expectations."

Those expectations are certainly different where Hayden is concerned. After his successes in 2002-03, Hayden was a walking wicket for the sharp end of the 2005 campaign, falling cheaply to Hoggard in three of the first four Tests, before grinding his way back to form with a gutsy 138 at The Oval. "He's a quality batsman, and he's phenomenal when he's in form," said Hoggard with relish. "It'll be an interesting battle up-front and one I'm quite looking forward to."

Another battle that is eagerly awaited is that between Glenn McGrath and the England top-order. Last summer, Hoggard suggested that McGrath, at 35, was "over the hill" - a comment that came back to haunt him when McGrath sent five wickets scattering in the space of 28 balls at Lord's. "He's not a spring chicken, but he's still a quality bowler," Hoggard conceded this time around. "But whatever happens, Shane Warne is going have a big influence on the series. He took 40 wickets at 19 [last time], so he must be doing something right."

England's last visit to Brisbane is remembered mainly for Nasser Hussain's decision to bowl first on winning the toss, and Hoggard was adamant that the same mistake would not be made again. "I think the grass will have to be three foot high before Andrew [Flintoff] tosses up and wins the toss and elects to bowl," he laughed. "A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then, but I don't think it matters who's captain, when you have 15-16 people on tour all pushing for the same outcome.

"I'll be older and wiser, and you can't replace experience," he added. "But I think other teams that have gone over to Australia in the past have had had mental scars from being beaten before. They didn't believe they could come over and win a Test match over there. We've got a relatively young squad, everyone has the knowledge that we can beat Australia, and we'll be going out there to give them a run for their money."