Hoggard cannot curb his enthusiasm

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After 15 years as a county player, Matthew Hoggard, now captain of Leicestershire, said: “It seems a lot less but I’ve still got the bug.“

Matthew Hoggard admits he still has the cricket “bug” as he approaches his 16th year as a county player.

The former England seamer, who turns 35 on December 31, is set to lead Leicestershire for a third straight season having joined the county from Yorkshire in October 2009.

Time has flown for Hoggard, who made his senior Yorkshire debut against South Africa A in July 1996 at Headingley.

Hoggard’s 26 wickets in seven games helped secure the 2001 County Championship and figures of 5-65 set up victory over Somerset in the 2002 Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy final at Lord’s.

His England career ran from 2000 to 2008 with 248 wickets in 67 Tests and 32 in 26 one-day internationals.

“It doesn’t seem 15 years,” he told ecb.co.uk. “It seems a lot less but I’ve still got the bug.

“It’s amazing (that after) just a couple of months off in the winter, you want to get back bowling, you want to get back on the park, you want to play cricket again.

“Ask me halfway through the season and it might be a different answer. Because I was injured as well last season for a couple of spells, I’m actually looking forward to getting back and playing cricket.”

Hoggard’s most recent injury, to his left shoulder, was sustained in the Champions League T20 qualifier with Trinidad & Tobago at Hyderabad on September 20 and required surgery on November 5.

“I tore my labrum in my shoulder so I had to go in to repair that and give it a bit of maintenance while I was in there. It was caused by a dive,” he explained.

“It’s healing very well. It’s moving up and down. It’s getting some strength back. It’s on course. Hopefully I’ll be fit end of January.”

Leicestershire’s participation in the Champions League qualifier – they lost both games to miss out on the competition proper – was reward for their third domestic t20 title, Hoggard’s first.

The Foxes rescued an otherwise disappointing season, in which they propped up the championship and came second-from-bottom in their Clydesdale Bank 40 pool, by finishing runners-up in the Friends Life t20 North Group.

With Abdul Razzaq, centre right, returning but Andrew McDonald, centre left, not, Hoggard said: “We’re looking at our options and we’re looking at another overseas.“

Hoggard led his side to unexpected glory on finals day at Edgbaston courtesy of a tied semi with Lancashire, settled by a one-over eliminator, and an eventually comfortable 18-run defeat of Somerset in the showpiece.

He was at a loss to explain Leicestershire’s contrasting fortunes this year.

“I wish I could because I’d put it right,” he joked. “We got on a roll in t20; we had some very good individual performances.

“We had match-winners all the way through the team. More often than not one or two of those players came off. Not necessarily the same player over and over again.

“The way Andrew McDonald played, player of the tournament. It always helps if you get player of the tournament. The dangerous Josh Cobb and Abdul Razzaq.

“We had a lot of players that could clear the boundary. We had a lot of options with the ball, six or seven options. And we had a batter down at nine which always helps so we had a very good balanced team in the t20.

“In t20 you don’t have to perform as long. You only have to perform over a shorter period and four-day cricket you’ve got to perform over four days or you get found out.”

Razzaq will return for the Foxes’ defence but not McDonald – who hit 584 runs, took 14 wickets and held 12 catches in this year’s tournament – because he was not able to obtain a new work permit.

With Paul Nixon’s retirement plus James Taylor and Harry Gurney joining Nottinghamshire, Hoggard has plenty to ponder.

“We’re looking at our options and we’re looking at another overseas option,” he revealed.

“We need to work out which department we need to reinforce really. We’re still umming and aahing which department we’re going to bolster.

“Harry Gurney bowled well up front and at the death so that’s an area we’re going to have to look at but we’ve got some young, talented cricketers at the club that can fill his role.”

The retirement from county cricket of Martin van Jaarsveld, who had moved from Kent, represents another void to fill.

“He’s a big loss,” Hoggard admitted. “I thought we made a very shrewd signing there. I’d like to thank Martin for being very honest with us and giving us plenty of time to look at our options.

“So we’re looking to replace him as well. We’ve got irons in the fire and we’re close to making a deal with another player to come in and fill his role.”

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