Matthew Hoggard on bowling
As the England boys sit in first class comfort on their long-haul to Australia ahead of the Ashes, Matthew Hoggard has been revealing the secrets of his success. Hoggard, who will be a vital component of England’s bowling attack, as had a magical couple of seasons and is now a considered a lynchpin. I’m not sure how many other metaphors I can invent to say that he can bowl a bit. Stupidly, though, he’s given the game away, and no doubt Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath will read with glee on finding the missing piece of their bowling jigsaw, as Hoggard reveals the secret:
At the end of the day, it’s just a red thing that you wang down the field and hope to land in the right areas.”
Inspirational. Forget line and length, forget the corridor of uncertainty, forget reverse swing – just wang it down there and hope for the best.
“They’re coming home, they’re coming home, the Ashes are coming home…”
Genius! What next? Ricky Ponting to reveal that the secret of being a good batsman is to “hold that wooden thing in front of you, swish it, and hope you hit the red thing”?
But – in all seriousness, give ‘em hell, Hoggy! ;-)