Freddie Signs New Lancashire Contract

Reports this morning confirm Andrew Flintoff has signed a new deal with Lancashire. Freddie will play one-day cricket for the Roses for the next three summers. The deal will also enable Flintoff to continue to play Twenty20 cricket in the IPL. The deal would enable him to play cricket in Australia, South Africa and the West Indies, as has been reported recently. There is no clarification wether the deal allows him to take part in stunt-based TV shows….

For Sale: Ex-England Fast Bowler – 688 First Class Wickets, One Previous Owner, Free To Collector

Matthew Hoggard, the ex-England seam bowler is often spoken of as underrated. But, after the latest setback of what has been a troubling couple of years, he must wonder whether his 248 Test (and 688 first-class) wickets have been noticed at all.

Yorkshire, the club Hoggard has served for more than fifteen years, have disgracefully decided not to renew his contract, which expired at the end of the season.

Hoggard, unsurprisingly, reacted furiously telling the Times:

“I’m shocked and bitterly disappointed. I think I’ve been loyal to Yorkshire. I wanted to commit the rest of my career to the club and I’d have relished the thought of captaincy, which I had discussed with Colin Graves [the chairman] and Martyn Moxon [the director of cricket]. Now I’ve effectively been sacked and I’m not even going to play for Yorkshire again, which makes me incredibly sad.”

Hoggard will now spend the winter looking for a new County, with Leicestershire the early favourites to secure his signature.

But a player of Hoggard’s quality and experience is surely too good to be starting his career again at 32 years of age - and in Division Two of the County Championship? With a mediocre, if talented, side? Surely not.

It seems as if everyone has forgotten what this man did – and was still doing 19 months ago – for England. Hoggard was the glue holding together the ‘fab four’ fast bowlers, on which England’s 2005 Ashes win was based. While not the most decorated of the quartet, Flintoff, Harmison and Jones relied on Hoggard’s dependable line and length, stamina and prowess with the new ball.

He had his days in the sun too. The wonderful hat-trick in Barbados in 2004. Twelve wickets, including seven for 61 in the second innings, at Johannesburg in 2005 to bowl England to a famous series win against South Africa.

As recently as September of this year, he took a hat-trick on his way to four for 29 in the Championship match against Sussex at Hove, skittling the hosts for just 83 to effectively save Yorkshire from relegation. Clearly the Yorkshire suits have short memories.

They also lack forsight. Hoggard topped the wickets table for the club this season and, unless they have something special up their sleeves, they have no one ready to take over the mantle. Adil Rashid will most likely be wearing an England shirt next summer, while Tim Bresnan will probably be working his biceps carrying the drinks around the Test grounds as 12th man.

This is not the first time Hoggard has been treated with such impertinance. He was dropped by England after their defeat to New Zealand at Hamilton in January 2008. Along with his old pal Harmison, he was made a scapegoat for the team’s poor performance – despite only one batsman making more than 13 in the second innings as England crumbled all out for 110 in pursuit of the 300 needed for victory.

And the harsh treatment by England did not stop there. With Ryan Sidebottom missing for the first Test of the 2008 summer, Hoggard looked a shoe-in for a recall. But England opted for Aussie-born Darren Pattinson, a veteran of all of 11 first-class matches, instead. Hoggard accepted at the time that it probably spelt the end for him in an England shirt. He has not been selected since.

England may have moved on now, but they struggled for consistency in their bowling attack for a time after replacing Hoggard. Yorkshire don’t appear to have learnt from the mistake. They will miss the workhorse next year and might hope he does indeed find a club in Division Two, because they have given him something to prove.