Brad Hogg talks about considering suicide during his period of downfall

Brad Hogg is the latest player in the line of cricketers sharing their life stories with an autobiography. The mercurial chinaman might look with full of enthusiasm becoming crowd’s favorite almost every country he has played in with his zooming flippers and his habit of sticking his tongue out. But the Western Australian has said that his personal life has not been filled with the same amount of exuberance as he battled with depression and turned to drinking.

Hogg has appropriately named his autobiography The Wrong ’Un based on his unplayable wrong uns he troubled the batsmen with. In a chapter titled The Collapse, the spinner has specifically talked about the fall in his personal life and suicidal tendencies.

“I parked my car at Port Beach and went for a walk. I’d stare at the sea and think, I could swim out to that groyne, and if I make it back fine. If I don’t make it back, well, hard luck. I was prepared to let the fate decide,” he writes.

After the retirement of Australia’s legendary spinner Shane Warne, it was all clear for Brad Hogg to make a career for himself but he announced a shocking retirement at the end of 2007-08 summer. The dual World Cup winner even featured in the victorious World Cup final for Australia in 2007 but he confirmed that his marital problems didn’t allow him to enjoy cricket as he used to which prompted him to leave the game by the end of the summer. He mentioned that after his retirement, he was completely away from the game and did not even watch any cricket for almost a year.

He even stated that he could not control his tears and started crying uncontrollably while fielding during his final Test against India in 2008 at Adelaide. He also recalled a drunken episode after an ODI at WACA after which he slept in the bushes as he walked to his home from the hotel.

“I felt I had nowhere to turn. This led to a period of deep depression. It was a cumulative effect of a broken marriage, a mundane work life and my festering anger that I had walked away from cricket. My ego had taken a hit and my purpose in life had diminished,” he writes confirming the dark zone he found himself in.

After being retired for close to 3 years, the left-arm spinner made a surprising and a pleasing comeback to the game playing for Perth Scorchers in BBL. He found a new sparkle in his life and became everyone’s favorite in a very short period of time and even made a comeback to Australia’s national squad featuring as their prime spinner in World T20 2012.

Also read – Suresh Raina contemplated ending his life

Hogg is 45 and after playing franchise cricket for popular teams like Rajasthan Royals, Perth Scorchers and Kolkata Knight Riders, he will be seen playing for Melbourne Renegades in the upcoming season of BBL