Rodney Hogg

Former Australian cricketing great Rodney ‘Hoggie’ Hogg has enjoyed a long and controversial career that began at Northcote Cricket Club and ascended to Victorian, South Australian and Australian representation. A menacingly fast and aggressive bowler, Rodney played in 38 Tests and 71 ODIs between 1978 and 1985. In Tests he took 123 wickets at an average of 28.47.

He first gained prominence during the 1978-79 Ashes series when he took 41 wickets for World Series-depleted Australia against England in 1978-79. The way he regularly beat Geoff Boycott thrilled Australia at a lean time.

Now an established corporate and motivational speaker and MC, Rodney delights business and sporting audiences with his great sense of humour and fascinating stories of his experiences on and off the pitch.

He is a sell-out speaker at sports nights across Australia and the UK. Even if you’re not a cricket tragic or sporting fan you will appreciate Hoggie’s anecdotes and his ability to keep an audience entertained.

More about Rodney Hogg:

Rodney debuted with Northcote as a 16-year-old in 1967-68, but a back injury in 1970 saw quicks such as Max Walker, Froggy Thomson and Alan Hurst go past him into the Victorian side. When he saw his former Northcote team mate Gary Coster move to Adelaide and break into the Test side, Rodney transferred to Prospect in 1975 and was soon in the South Australian team.

In 1973/74, Rod was a member of Northcote’s premiership team, taking 4/69 against a strong Melbourne line-up including Paul Sheahan, David Broad, Jeff Moss and Bob Lloyd.

Rodney returned to Victoria in 1984-85 and was appointed Test vice-captain following Kim Hughes’ resignation during the summer, but his decision to sign for the rebel South African tours in 1985/86 and 1986/87 effectively ended his Test career.

Rodney continued playing VCA cricket until 1991, finishing with 282 wickets @ 18.08 from 136 matches for Northcote, Carlton and Waverley/Dandenong. He took 5 or more wickets in an innings 13 times.

During his long playing career, ‘Hoggie’ became a national favourite, with the crowd in his adopted South Australia frequently heard chanting, ‘Hoggie, Hoggie, Hoggie’ whenever he charged in.

In 1997, Rodney’s autobiography The Whole Hogg – Inside the mind of a lunatic fast bowler was published. More recently, Rod has been commentating for Channel 7 in Australia, and was Strategy and Fast Bowling Coach for Victorian Cricket.

Forthright, frank and very funny, Rodney Hogg is a highly engaging and entertaining motivational, corporate and after-dinner speaker and MC.