Australian spinner Brad Hogg was in Australia's international system for almost 20 years, having made his Test and ODI debut in 1996 before playing his last T20 game for Australia in 2014.
In that time frame Hogg had become one of the most liked players to fans all around Australia, but it wasn't always that way, especially in team dressing room.
Hogg has released a new book titled The Wrong 'Un, and the bowler details moments with some of Australia's greatest ever players.
Hogg on a tough nut to crack
“One player I struggled to get on with was Matthew Hayden,” writes Hogg.
“I admired Matthew but I don’t think he rated me as a cricketer. The first sign I had to be careful around Matthew was in 2003 when I was 12th man for a Test at the SCG.
“I decided to give our openers, [Justin] Langer and Hayden, some encouragement. I was going on to Justin about how we had to stick it to the Poms. Then I did the same with Hayden. He just looked at me before telling me to shut up and leave him alone.
Gilly reminded me to revisit the psychologist’s report which provided insights into players’ personalities. I went to the locker room and looked at the report. ‘Don’t talk to Haydos before he bats’ I read.
Hayden and Damien Martyn were tight. One time I was in the team room and I saw Hayden drawing a ‘circle of trust’ on a piece of butcher’s paper. He and Martyn were inside the circle. Then he put the other names in various positions depending on how much he trusted them. He put me right on the edge, which I found demoralising. It was also a time when I was struggling on the field so it hurt even more."
One of his first interactions with Warnie
“I didn’t really spend much time with Warnie, but I couldn’t contain my excitement when we played together at last,” writes Hogg, of a match ahead of the 2003 World Cup.
“I was fielding at point at the SCG when Punter asked him to start warming up. As I always did, I tried to rev everyone up, but this time I went right over the top. ‘You beauty!’ I shouted. ‘The king’s about to bowl, and I’ve got front row seats.’
Warne just turned and looked at me, muttering, ‘what’s this bloke on?’"
A harsh MacGill lesson
“In my excitement at representing my country I often attempted to psyche up my teammates,” writes Hogg. “Some liked it but with others it grated.
“One time Stuart MacGill was bowling. I was fielding at midwicket and going through my usual banter: ‘Well bowled Stu. Well bowled. Good over mate. Keep it going.’
“He quickly had enough of my enthusiasm – ‘don’t talk to me again,’ he yelled over at me.
“He then got hit for four and Gilchrist tried to shush me but I kept babbling away. The captain put me in the deep where I couldn’t piss MacGill off.”
