Australia high on the Hogg

By Paresh Soni
BBC Sport in Grenada

He's bowled beautifully through the tournament Ricky Ponting on Brad Hogg

Having Shane Warne as a contemporary was a mixed blessing for other Australian spin bowlers.

Although he set a standard for them to aspire to, it also meant that when they had a chance to bowl, batsmen were prepared to take a few liberties with them.

So it was for Brad Hogg, whose opportunities in Test cricket were chastening experiences.

A tough debut in Delhi and a seven-year exile was followed by an assault from Brian Lara in Trinidad that all but ended any hopes of a long run in the five-day format.

But the absence of Warne through suspension at the 2003 World Cup opened a new door for Hogg - and the left-arm chinaman bowler did not waste the opportunity, taking 13 wickets with his flippers and well disguised wrong 'uns.

So far, he has played 103 one-day internationals with a more than respectable wicket-taking average of 27.8 and economy rate of 4.5 runs per over.

Yet batsmen continue to underestimate his ability, their eyes lighting up whenever he gives the ball flight after a miserly opening from the likes of Glenn McGrath.

HOGG FACTFILE Born: Narrogin, Western Australia 6.2.71 4 Tests 9 wickets, average 50.22, best bowling 2-70, 38 runs, highest score 17no 103 ODIs 127 wickets, average 27.81, best bowling 5-32, 705 runs, highest score 71no First-class cricket 160 wickets, average 40.33, best bowling 6-44, 3,679 runs, highest score 158

There have been a few expensive efforts, with England and New Zealand getting after him in the CB Series and Chappell-Hadlee Trophy earlier this year.

But Hogg maintains nothing was that wrong with what he was doing.

"Over the last six months, I've been bowling really well. I had a period there where I didn't get any wickets for six games, and I reckon five of those games are the best I've ever bowled for my whole career," he said after the team's arrival for the World Cup.

And that confidence has been backed up by several superb spells in the Caribbean, causing his wrong 'un to become the focus of many a debate at news conferences and bars.

He had his revenge against Lara in Antigua, trapping the great left-hander lbw with a beauty during their Super 8s game before modestly saying: "I was just making sure he didn't hit me over the fence again."

England's Andrew Flintoff was bamboozled by the wrong-un at the same venue, and on Monday in Grenada he outfoxed a much better player of spin, Mahela Jayawardene.

But the sniping from some quarters has not stopped - South Africa targeted Hogg before their group game in St Kitts, with captain Graeme Smith putting his three wickets down to his players "trying to hit the ball out of the ground".

And before the latest game, Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody suggested there was little from Hogg for his batsmen to worry about "unless he's added a lot of variation since we last played him".

Hogg takes such jibes in his stride.

Apart from his bowling, Hogg is a safe pair of hands in the field

Having had to live in Warne's shadow, and then seeing the Australian selectors briefly turn to Cameron White - who looks more threatening with the bat than with his leg-breaks - he is a tough character who appears to have got better with age.

In his first 50 one-dayers, Hogg captured 54 wickets at an average of 31.35, but his latest 53 have yielded 73 at a much-improved average of 25.20.

"He's bowling now as well as he ever has and he's beating a lot of batsmen with his variations," said captain Ricky Ponting.

"He's take a lot of wickets through the tournament with his wrong 'un and he's bowling it very well at the moment.

"More importantly, he's thinking through his bowling a lot better, using his variations at the right times, which he probably didn't always do."

At the age of 36, Hogg could conceivably have a future in Test cricket following Warne's retirement, with some fans preferring his variety to the orthodox leg-spin of Stuart MacGill.

But for now, whatever opponents and critics may say, he seems set to have another significant say in the destiny of the World Cup.