Rodney Hogg

An ultra-aggressive fast bowler by design, Rodney Hogg stormed into international cricket in the 1978-79 Ashes series where his vicious pace and accuracy fetched him a whopping 41 wickets in the six-match series. His career was off to a bang and the highlight of the performances in the series were his duels with Geoff Boycott, often leaving the Englishman in admiration with his quality spells. Australia had just lost a bunch of players to Kerry Packer's World Series and Hogg's arrival fueled hopes in the fast bowling department. The Victorian was a specialist batsman during his days as Grade cricketer before turning to pace bowling with elan. Lack of opportunities saw him shifting base from Victoria to South Australia and the results were instant although for different reasons.

The rebel World Series saw a plethora of star Australian players leaving in pursuit of more money and bigger fame. It coincided with South Australia's domestic success and despite Hogg not really shining a lot, he got the national call up he was craving for. After his breakaway start, he couldn't quite replicate the same level of success in his career but was nevertheless a key figure in the Australian bowling unit. The 1979 tour to India is easily Hogg's most controversial time as a cricketer. The extreme heat often derailed his fitness levels and he had started to develop an unhealthy habit of bowling too many no balls. He ended up injuring opposition batsmen in the practice games and overall, he was hogging the limelight for the wrong reasons.

While his form dipped and injury woes lengthened over the next few years, his decision to make a rebel tour to South Africa all but ended his career due to the bans that followed. South African cricket had been stopped due to apartheid issues and hence, they weren't being active in international cricket. However, the lure of money saw a set of Australian players touring them twice in the 1980s and Hogg was part of both teams. The bans and injuries virtually ended any possibility of Hogg staging a comeback. Post retirement, Hogg has been involved in coaching fast bowlers and has also been a fine motivational speaker. Hogg has also been a fine writer and involved himself with television commentary as well.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan