Brad Hodge quits first-class game

[aussie1st]

Victoria batsman Brad Hodge is expected to announce on Tuesday his retirement from first-class cricket, believing his Test dream is over, according to reports. Hodge, 34, said he would play two more Sheffield Shield games before stepping down after Christmas to spend more time with his family.

"After a number of years weighing up cricket versus family, I reckon family might have won this battle," Hodge was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun. "I guess it came down to lack of opportunity to play Test cricket again. I was just a fill-in for Ricky Ponting if something went wrong. I guess that wasn't enough of an excuse for me."

However, he will continue to play the shorter forms of the game for Victoria and for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. "In a way it's a way to lengthen my career rather than shorten it. It's my last-ditch effort to make the Australian World Twenty20 side," he said.

Brad Hodge to quit first-class game - reports | Australia Cricket News | Cricinfo.com

Will be a lost to the game, hes been so consistent at FC.

 

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Our selectors are dumb, why cannot they give chance to Hodge :doh He played very well in IPL and vey decent in FC macthes.

 

[Dare]

Unlucky player. Never really got the opportunity he deserved in the test team. Would have played 100+ tests in many other countries.

 

[Robelinda]

You score a 200*, Warne and McGrath cant bowl SA out on the the 5th day and you get dropped 2 tests later. Unlucky. No-one could say he's anything other than a might fine classy timer of the ball, and always looks assured and mature at the crease.

 

[MaD]

Bloody dam stupid selector :doh

 

[TumTum]

I am not surprised, he is 35 anyway.

 

[Bluebagger]

I'm surprised his mother didn't do the press conference, good riddence to the whinger.

You score a 200*, Warne and McGrath cant bowl SA out on the the 5th day and you get dropped 2 tests later. Unlucky. No-one could say he's anything other than a might fine classy timer of the ball, and always looks assured and mature at the crease.

Did you just happen to watch that test? They might aswell played the game on the Great Western Highway it was such a road, Rudolph scored the second most boring test century (aside from Hall's century in India and anything Boycott did) and Warne still took most of the wickets.

We haven't needed Hodge at all during his career.

 

[Robelinda]

Yes I did watch the test, it turned out to be a road in the end, but still no-one else got a 200* so full credit to Hodge.

 

[Bluebagger]

Even though it was 6 tests too many atleast he was limited to only 6 tests and not 20, 30 or even 50.

 

[drainpipe32]

This is pretty sad news. One of the great players not to get an extended run in a test team. Will be missed from the Vics team. Is he continuing with ODs and T20s?

 

[Dare]

I'm surprised his mother didn't do the press conference, good riddence to the whinger.

Australia would have been better of building a team with this guy then trying to push Symonds. We all know how Symonds payed off.

 

[sifter132]

Unlucky player. Never really got the opportunity he deserved in the test team. Would have played 100+ tests in many other countries.

He can join Jamie Siddons, Stuart Law, Darren Lehmann and Michael Bevan (maybe even Dean Jones and Matthew Elliott) in the guys who carved up the Sheffield Shield but couldn't go any further club.

Australia would have been better of building a team with this guy then trying to push Symonds. We all know how Symonds payed off.

Couldn't agree more. We can see now: Marcus North is a HUGE improvement over what Symonds offered at #6.

 

[braguvaran]

Poor Brad! His story goes on to show that luck counts as well in international cricket!
Hopefully they atleast include him in T20

 

[Covvy]

Any other test nations he would definately be playing for, except maybe India and RSA.

 

[King Cricket]

The guy is really unlucky. Could never wear the baggy green cap for long, despite being amazingly consistent in the first class level. Well, tbh, it kinda puzzles me. Why didn't the Aussie selectors give him enough opportunities in the international level? He was clearly one of the bests in their domestic setup, and could surely have been a great player had the Aussie selectors given him the chances he deserved, and nurtured him properly from the beginning. From what I see in Cricinfo, he did pretty well in the limited number of Tests he played and might as well have been an ideal player to partially fill the gap left by the successive retirements of different legendary Aussie batsmen; why didn't the team management continue with him then? Strange! Australia's S Badrinath?