Product Description

The quintessential barking-mad Yorkshire cricketer, 'Hoggy's' record-breaking bowling exploits for England allied to his humorous, uniquely oddball yet hugely endearing attitude to sport and life makes this essential reading for all lovers of the game. Matthew Hoggard is the sort of character you find in war films: dependable, dog-loving, salt of the earth and very British. He is the fast bowler who would run in all day, the intelligent, committed team player on the field and the class clown of the England dressing room. He grew up wanting to be a vet, but instead became a pivotal figure in one of the most successful periods English cricket has ever known, culminating in the extraordinary Ashes victory in 2005. His stature in the game was such that he played in 40 consecutive Tests and was ranked as high as No 4 in the world's best bowlers. Much like the way he plays the game, Hoggy's book is a laid-back and eccentric, heartwarming yet totally barmy journey through cricket and beyond. If you're looking for a measured chronological account of a typical cricketer's career, then look away now. The night that Hoggy arm-wrestled the entire Sri Lankan cricket team, why Dolly Parton is underrated a s a bowling coach, who was Jack the Snipper and what was Andrew Flintoff doing up at 3am in the morning...these and other stories abound, proving there is no other current English sportsman to compare with Hoggy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4774 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Review
Hoggard on Hoggard: 'I'm from Yorkshire. I say what I like and I like what I bloody well say. I'm not one for beating around the bush, I am not politically correct...' 'Hoggy's a man devoted to his wife, his two dogs -- and speaking his mind' The Times 'Hoggard's presence brings the sort of pleasant comfort that comes with a favourite armchair, fireside and a good book' Guardian 'He's my favourite cricketer...he's got lots of spirit and plays the game in the right way' Johnny Borrell, lead singer of Razorlight

About the Author
Matthew Hoggard was born in Pudsey, Yorkshire in December 1976. A right-arm orthodox swing bowler he plays county cricket for his home club Yorkshire and made his England Test debut in June 2000 against the West Indies. He currently stands sixth in the list of all-time England Test wicket-takers with 240 from 64 matches. He is married to wife Sarah and has a baby boy Ernie and two dogs, Billy and Molly. In 2006 he was awarded an MBE. John Westerby is a sportswriter for The Times.

Customer Reviews

"A suicide note to rank alongside Labour's 1983 manifesto"-Mike Atherton
"He's mad a box of frogs " says the quote by Andrew Flintoff on the cover of Matthew Hoggards autobiography. Not sure about that but judging from his book he is a slightly eccentric . Frankly i have never read a sportsman's/woman's autobiography like it. Contributions from his wife, his son and even his two dogs pepper this book .There are random lists - fastest bowlers faced, hardest hitting batsman and plenty of what he calls "Hogfacts" - spurious little factoids linked from the narrative - like did you know that humans have tiny bones for what would once have been a tail ?And that that we have unusable muscles once meant to move our ears? As Matthew points out it's a good job in Andrew Caddicks case , imagine the draught . All of which makes "Welcome to my world " a refreshing change to a the usual rote sports memoirs. Kepler Wessels "My Life " it ai,nt.
It concentrates mainly on his England career which comes as no surprise but as a fellow Yorkshireman i would have liked to know more about his Yorkshire career and by proxy some of his team mates. The stuff we do learn about is hugely amusing -the anecdotes about Darren Lehmann, Darren Gough and David Byas are terrific - but his exploits for his home county are given pretty short shrift.
The account of his England career covers everything from his exercise regime , diet( "Fast bowlers don't do salad " he harrumphs but apparently they do Roast Chicken Monster Munch as his plea to reinstate them testify's ) , practice , the joys of being the night-watchman , injuries , dealing with the media( who he calls a ...well i cannot print it here but it's not complimentary ) the science ( or as he would have it at times the sheer chance) of swing bowling , the art of touring and naturally the up and downs of being as he calls it England's shop floor sweeper( that's bowling workhorse to me & you )
When the books rather idiosyncratic and silly style is put to one side and he concentrates on real issues then his role of class clown reveals somebody with justifiable complaints about his time as an England player and a ripe way of getting to the nub of an issue. His relationship with Nasser Hussain revolved around several bollockings , even when the highly strung former England captain had moved to the commentary box and his uneasy rapport with Duncan Fletcher and the fact he feels the former coach didn't rate him may come as a surprise . What does not come. as a surprise is his antipathy to the E.C.B who are revealed to be crass , bumbling charlatans but then we already knew that.
His axing ,coming at a time of intense personal stress just showcases the idiocy and insensitivity of his employers. Talking of which his recent departure from Yorkshire would make interesting reading as well. There is no doubt that Hoggard has been shabbily treated by both county and country .Mike Atherton called this book "A suicide note to rank alongside Labour's 1983 manifesto" by that meaning Hoggard will not play for England again. Their loss I would say. He,s a very fine bowler and a 100%,er. This is an original , honest and characteristically unhinged autobiography. And a lot more entertaining than Labours 1983 manifesto .
Now ensconced as the captain of Leicestershire , lets just say their dressing room will be an fascinating place to be around for the next 3 years. And even if they are rubbish at cricket as least they should have a hell of quiz team.

Welcome to the world of Englands top underwater wood welder
Cricket, like any sport, is only a game. Bill Shankly, the Liverpool manager back in the 60's & 70's had a wonderful way with words, but he got it totally wrong when he once said that football wasn't a matter of life or death, it was much more important than that. Sport is meant to be an entertainment, a release from the pressures of everyday life. Unfortunately we seem to have forgotten that, as sports watchers treat a defeat as if it was the end of the world, and the players seem constantly dissatisfied with their lot, forgetting that they are being paid good money to play a game, something that most people would gladly do for nothing. In short, fun is going out of sport.

Thank the Lord for Matthew Hoggard then, because his autobiography is a fun book that was obviously written with a smile on his face and will almost certainly put a smile on the face of most people who will read it, although I'm not convinced it well go down that well with some of the MCC tie wearing members at Lords.

Okay it's a bit silly at times - a daft puzzle page, Hogfacts (pieces of useless information scattered throughout the book), lists (scruffiest players, angriest batsmen etc) and even contributions from his two dogs and his very young son, Ernie - but that's fine because they all add to entertainment value of the book.

Don't be mislead into thinking that it's all light hearted stuff though, because Hoggy writes very well about cricket too. His eight year International career encompassed the renaissance of English Test cricket, culminating in the Ashes victory in 2005, so he is able to give the reader a unique and insightful viewpoint about both the games played and the characters involved.

Not a classic cricket book by any means, but perfect reading to help pass time during the lunch interval or for when rain stops play.

Hoggy's book
This book,about the scraggy haired England and Yorkshire fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, is a light read and really good. I wanted to know what Hoggard thought about being dropped from the England team. I also liked this book because it's really recent. Hoggard is a really funny writer and makes up words like ridonculous.

To summmarise, this book tells you how Hoggard got into cricket, but also tells you about his personal life and not just his cricket career. I think you don't have to like cricket to read it and enjoy it. I have also reently read Marcus Trescothick's autobiography,which is also excellent because it is really detailed and honest about his life and depression, whereas the Hoggard book is more entertaing.