13 Fascinating facts about Matthew Hoggard

The 6ft-2in Yorkshire born medium fast bowler took the world stage by storm. Matthew Hoggard had the ability to shape the ball away from the right-hander at a good pace. He led the English bowling line up at a young age and never looked back from there on. Let’s take a look at some of the most interesting facts about Matthew Hoggard:

1. Born and brought up:

Matthew James Hoggard was born on December 31, 1976, Leeds, Yorkshire. Hoggard now lives there with his wife Sarah and daughter Ernie.

2. Major caps:

He has represented England, Free State, Leicestershire and Yorkshire.

3. Nickname:

He is popularly known as “Oggie”.

4. Education:

Hoggard studied at Pudsey Grangefield school. He was a good student throughout his school days.

5. Captain Hoggard:

He was the captain of Leicestershire from 2010 until he announced his retirement in 2013. Previous to this he played for Yorkshire for a total of thirteen years.

6. Early years:

He began his cricketing journey at his local team, the famous Bradford League club, Pudsey Congs CC. He started his domestic career in first-class cricket in 1996. His debut List-A match followed in 1998.

7. Test call-up:

He made his debut against West Indies in the year 2000. He went wicketless in the first innings while West Indies were all out for 54 in the second innings, giving no scope to the debutant to roll his arm.

8. ODI colors:

Hoggard made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare in the year 2001. He took 32 wickets from 26 matches at an average of 36.00.

9. Overall tally:

He scalped 248 wickets in 67 Tets matches at an average of 30.50, with seven 5-wicket hauls. He has 786 wickets in domestic cricket and 51 in T20 cricket.

8. Lead ace:

Having only played two Tests, he led the attack during England’s 2001–2002 tour of India, and later took 7/63 against New Zealand.

9. Hat-trick man:

He took an hat-trick against West Indies in the year 2004 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

10. Top award:

In the 2006 New Year Honours, Matthew Hoggard was awarded the MBE for his role in the successful Ashes tournament.

11. Wisden honour:

He was also named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in April 2006.

12.  From cricketer to Author:

He released a book, ‘Hoggy: Welcome to my world’ which had a serialisation in The Times, and contributed a regular column to a popular cricket website.

13. Big win:

In the year 2011, under Hoggard’s captaincy, Leicestershire won the Twenty 20 Cup for the third time.