Kyle Hogg

Full Name	Kyle Hogg
Nickname	Hoggy
DoB	2nd July 1983
Height	6' 4''
Bats/Bowls	Left Hand/Right arm fast medium
Shirt Number	22
Lancashire	Debut 2001, Cap 2010. Other clubs: Otago 2006/07, Notts (loan) 2007, Worcs (loan) 2007
Tests	0
ODI	0

Profile

Kyle Hogg has often demonstrated talent and quality in abundance, with both ball and bat, but the former England under 19’s international has never really been able to hold down a regular spot. Until 2009 that is.

Hogg admitted, prior to the most recent summer, that the 2006 season was the most enjoyable of his career.

A string of impressive performances with the ball at the head of the one-day attack made people talk about fulfilling that huge potential as the county progressed to the Friends Provident Trophy final.

The following two years were a little hit and miss for the Saddleworth star, but he was one of those, in the same bracket as Tom Smith, to benefit the most from the arrival of Peter Moores as coach in early ‘09.

While remaining as steady as ever in one-day cricket – he was left out of Twenty20 though – he managed to excel in the longer format of the game, playing 13 of the 16 County Championship matches.

He hit 309 runs, including two fifties and a best of 69, while he also 30 wickets at an admirable average of 32.16.

The grandson of former West Indian great Sonny Ramadhin was tipped for the top very early on his career – it began with a Lancashire debut in 2001 – but unfortunately a series of injuries from a torn calf, to a hernia operation, to a mystery illness picked up on England U19’s duty in Sri Lanka really set him back in his development.

"I think what everybody seems to forget about those days is that I was playing regularly at 17. I was only just out of school, and at some point it was always going to catch up with me. Touch wood, things are different now."

For a good few years now the Old Trafford coaching staff, Mike Watkinson in particular, have stressed the need for Kyle to rid himself of that promising youngster tag.

Until 2006, it seemed as if it was weighing heavy on his mind. 16 one-day wickets and 15 in the Championship, added to a couple of impressive four-day knocks with the bat, also prompted the State Otago Volts to come calling for his winter services.

"I was really happy with my role opening the bowling in the one-dayers. I thought I had real consistency right the way through the season," he said.

But 2007 didn’t quite work out as Kyle expected at Old Trafford, with first team appearances in all forms limited to a handful at best. But he did earn some rave reviews from his month on loan at Worcestershire, where he was able to get some four-day cricket under his belt. He also spent a short time on loan at Nottinghamshire.

2008 started with a bang, as he impressed greatly on the club’s pre-season tour of the Middle East. He claimed the man of the match award in a game against Essex at Sharjah.

He had a solid Friends Provident Trophy campaign, claiming ten wickets and hitting 157 runs, including a best of 66 not out. He took six Twenty20 wickets and later played in four Pro40 League games without taking a wicket.

The stats for last season agree that 2009 was his most prolific summer. Kyle didn’t actually tell the media it was his most enjoyable yet, but it would be a big surprise if he wasn’t thinking that. The one thing that he is without is a county cap. Surely that will come sooner rather than later too.

Graham Hardcastle
(c) Lancashire County Cricket Club Ltd
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