Brad Hodge quits first-class game

[braguvaran]

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

Maybe if he was a bit smarter he would have moved to england in his late 20's and who knows he may have even captaining them by now

 

[Covvy]

West Indies would have been better.

 

[drainpipe32]

But it shows his loyalty, to not just want to bugger off to England. He stayed devoted to his country, and has even won games for us!

 

[Robelinda]

He's better than Elliott and Lehmann, he didnt fail at test cricket- his record is good. Dean Jones did bloody well to average 46- that is someone who was really good, not great. Bevan on the other hand was a failure.

 

[blake]

Bevan was a test failure, maybe, but he carved it up in One Dayers so I wouldn't call his career a failure, he was one of Australia's key batsman in ODIs with his cool head and composed innings..

 

[MUFC1987]

Imagine how many Tests Hodge would have played if he was from NSW. Just goes to show, it doesn't matter how good you are, if your face doesn't fit, you don't get in.

 

[rahuldravidfan]

Proves that selectors are a bunch of jokers all around the world.

I really feel sad for Hodgey. This is a sad day for Aussie cricket, the repercussions of which will be felt soon in the future.

rahuldravidfan added 1 Minutes and 37 Seconds later...

Maybe if he was a bit smarter he would have moved to england in his late 20's and who knows he may have even captaining them by now

Agreed. It would have served the Aussie selectors right

 

[sifter132]

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?

Here's the story kids listen carefully. Until 2005, he was fighting the Waugh brothers, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Simon Katich, Darren Lehmann, Michael Bevan etc etc for a middle order Test and ODI spot. Hodge is good, but you can't tell me he's better than even half of those guys I've listed. He was unlucky with his peers being so good.

He was given a shot in 2005/06 against SA and WI because Martyn, Clarke and Katich were dropped after the Ashes. Yes he made plenty of runs that summer, but there was always the thought that he wasn't as good a player as the guys who were dropped and that he was just making the most of his opportunities. After the summer finished and the tour of SA squad was announced, Martyn and Clarke were back in - so was Andrew Symonds :doh. I had no problem with Martyn and Clarke getting back, both are classy players and both proved their form in the 05/06 season in Shield cricket. It's almost like the Phil Hughes thing now. We all know he's good and deserves a spot, and when he gets runs again he'll be back. That's what happened with Michael Clarke in particular back in early '06.

Hodge meanwhile was also suffering a Hughes like situation, being dropped for technical reasons. Hodge was showing a worrying trend of chasing wide balls and getting out caught behind on cover drives.

The only thing I fault the selectors on is that Symonds went to SA instead of Hodge. But even then, I would have only had Hodge as a reserve batsman. He didn't have the Test experience or class of Martyn, and Michael Clarke was being picked on potential. And after the 2005 Ashes, our selectors had an all-rounder fetish. There was no need for one, as Warne and McGrath were still bowling well and rarely did we ever need a 5th bowler with them around. But Flintoff's performance in the Ashes seemed to inpsire our selectors to play copycat. Shane Watson was picked for the first post-Ashes Test of 05/06 at the Gabba, but put his shoulder out diving for a ball at mid on. With plan A stuffed, the selectors turned to plan B - Andrew Symonds. He got selected based on hot ODI form and fielding ability? I really don't know, but Symonds was a desperate attempt to get an all-rounder in the side. Now of course, Australia DOES need an all-rounder with Hauritz, Johnson etc. needing more support than Warne/McGrath used to. But back then we didn't and Hodge paid the price for it.

Now in ODIs he was never a first XI choice during his career, always a top reserve. He got his last shot in India in late '07 where he played miserably - 6 innings, 59 runs, avg: 9.83. And since he was 33 the selectors didn't see him as a guy to keep around until the 2011 World Cup, given that he wasn't in the first choice XI to begin with.

So in summary, could have been luckier. But I don't think he was treated obscenely badly or anything. He just had a LOT of competition.

 

[aussie1st]

ODI career off clues to Hodge mystery

That goes a long way to explain it. For me his debut ODI series against NZ showed he had a weakness outside of off stump. That probably stuck in the selectors head ever since. And looking at Hodge history, apart from the 203 he didn't make the most of his opportunity. Had he scored more runs after that 203, he would have put alot more pressure on the selectors to keep him.

In between his Test matches in 2005, he had some ODIs. I know he was in and out of the side but he was given a chance to impress the selectors. He failed to do that and combined with his up and down Test performances, the selectors decided to over look him for the next Test squad.

You have to take the chances you are given and really make an impression. Hodge showed he was capable but he didn't knock the house down.

 

[sifter132]

^Yeah that's interesting the Hilditch comments and it could mean a lot going forward too, with guys like Cameron White, Callum Ferguson or Adam Voges probably ahead of a Michael Klinger, Daniel Harris or even a Chris Rogers for a Test berth mainly because of their prowess in ODIs.

Just thinking about Hodgey more. He's a #3 batsman born in 1974. Just so happens he was born 10 days after a particularly awesome #3 batsman who was also born in 1974 just across the Bass Strait... Tough luck Dodgeball