Brad Hodge      

Full name Bradley John Hodge

Born December 29, 1974, Sandringham, Victoria

Current age 34 years 315 days

Major teams Australia, Durham, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Victoria

Nickname Hodgey, Dodgeball

Playing role Higher middle order batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Height 1.78 m

Brad Hodge is still pushing hard to avoid becoming an Australian cricket nearly man. When he was dropped with an average of 58.42 only five matches into his Test career in 2005-06 it would have been easy for him to disappear into the first-class ranks he has dominated for most of his career. "Don't worry, I'll be back," was Hodge's response. He was right, even if it took more than two years.

In 2006-07 he smashed 765 Pura Cup runs at 85.00 to force himself into the one-day side when Ricky Ponting rested, but two failures put him in danger of immediate demotion until Andrew Symonds suffered an arm injury. His unfortunate streak remained only in that he was stranded on 99 not out when he hit the winning runs against New Zealand and was then one hefty shot out of reach when he posted an unbeaten 97 in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. The performances earned him a spot at the World Cup and he finally grabbed three figures with 123 off 89 balls against the Netherlands. It was his last bat in the tournament and he watched the final from the dressing room, which has become an all-too familiar viewing platform.

Hodge was Australia's unluckiest casualty of the 2005-06 season of batting change. Picked for his first Test in November after being the reserve on tours to India, New Zealand and England, he opened with a fluent 60 and by the end of the home summer had 409 runs at an envious average. Still it wasn't enough to earn a spot on the South Africa trip as the selectors returned to Damien Martyn and Michael Clarke. Included in his five outings was an unbeaten 203 against South Africa in Perth, where he joined his boyhood idol Dean Jones as one of five Australians to make their maiden century a double. Two Tests later, Hodge, a tiny right-hander who is more quiet and laid back than Jones, was dropped amid whispers of a technical flaw against fast bowling, a short drought in the Pura Cup and a selection "judgment call".

He picked himself up with a century in the domestic final loss to Queensland, but was again overlooked for the Bangladesh series and had a winter assignment with Lancashire. Staying on the fringes for the next couple of years, he was called into the squad as a shadow player for the 2008 West Indies tour when Clarke was a late arrival due to a family death. Expected to stay a week and return to the Indian Premier League, he won a Test recall when Matthew Hayden was injured, scoring a calm 67 before being squeezed out again. His 261 against Queensland in 2008-09 contributed to his 803 Sheffield Shield runs and his senior status helped him hold on to his Cricket Australia contract at the age of 34.

A regular and consistent performer for his state and counties, Hodge's Victorian debut came in 1993-94 as an 18-year-old and he almost compiled 1000 runs in the season as he settled quickly at No. 4. The following years were more difficult, but he returned from the dips as a more complete player, carrying a classical technique and the ability to direct shots to all parts of the ground. Around consistently impressive one-day returns, Hodge passed the 1000 barrier in the 2000-01 first-class summer when he was a key player in the Bushrangers' march to a second successive Pura Cup final. More of the same output was revealed in 2001-02, when he shared the domestic Player-of-the-Season award with Queensland's Jimmy Maher, and his consistency pushed him towards international honours.

After a brief spell with Durham in 2002, Hodge spent two productive summers at Leicestershire, leading them to a domestic one-day trophy in 2004 and making the county's highest individual score of 302 not out against Nottinghamshire the season before, but moved to Lancashire in 2005. Rewarded with his first Cricket Australia contract in 2004, he was picked for the India tour and considered for the opening Test, but narrowly missed a place taken spectacularly by Clarke.
Cricinfo staff May 2009

Nov 4, 2009

Brad Hodge works one through the leg side

© Getty Images

Jun 19, 2009

Brad Hodge bats during a game of laneway cricket

© AFP

Jun 19, 2009

Brad Hodge with representatives of Melbourne's Indian community and Victoria Police

© Cricket Victoria

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