Successes in Twenty20 competitions have inspired Australia’s Brad Hodge to make a bid to win back his place in the Australia Test squad for the upcoming Ashes series.
Hodge is one of the very few cricketers to have scored runs consistently in domestic cricket but never won the heart of the selectors, who had cut short his career just after six Tests.
He has averaged 55.88 in six Tests, made his maiden Test century into a double in a testing condition at Perth against a side like South Africa but it did not help him in prolonging his career as much as he had expected.
He never played a Test match after being recalled for a game against hosts West Indies in 2008, first time in two years and frustrated at being ignored by the selectors constantly he also quit first-class cricket in 2009.
Currently he plays in Twenty20 cricket, a format which suits his batting best, which also earned him some successes in the Big Bash league for Melbourne Stars. He was also a star performer for Barisal Burners in the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League, making 346 runs in 11 matches.
He joined Burners again this season and made an instant impact with 53 off 40 balls to win man of the match award in his first match against Khulna Royal Bengals on Sunday.
Hodge feels he is hard done by selectors and is considering going back to four-day cricket in Australia’s Sheffield Shield and having a quick shot at trying to make it to the Ashes team.
‘I probably deserved to a play a little bit more when I had the opportunity,’ Hodge said on Sunday. ‘It seems that there seems to be rotating a lot more players a little bit more than when I was in my prime. I am still playing good enough to represent Australia I think.
‘But I do believe that my opportunity is passed. Having said that I am considering going back to four-day cricket and having a quick shot at trying to make it to the Ashes team.’
Hodge played a pivotal role for Burners in the inaugural season, particularly in the crucial match against Chittagong Kings which they were required to win in 15 overs in order to improve their run rate and reach the semi-finals.
He scored 67 runs from 36 balls to make it happen, though at one stage the tournament orgnasiers told the
franchise that they could make it to the last four as Chittagong Kings had a better head-to-head record.
After a lot of chaos, confusion and controversy they were awarded the place eventually, but the decision came at a time when Hodge was on his way back to Australia.
He returned from the airport to play the semi-final and the final, which Hodge said is still vivid in his memory.
‘As a family man when I was told that we didn’t make the final I wanted to go back home and to my little kids,’ he said. ‘And then I was told that we were in the semi-final, so I rushed back and then we played and we won,’ he said.
-With New Age input
