'Ponting and Gilchrist actually came up and asked me to bowl wrong ones to him': Hogg reveals battle against Tendulkar

Talking about the experience of bowling to Sachin Tendulkar, Brad Hogg explained how he was a bit under the pump during the 2007 Test series Down Under.

Brad Hogg only dismissed Sachin Tendulkar once in international cricket but there was no lack of excitement every time the two came face to face. Hogg had Tendulkar out during an ODI between India and Australia in Hyderabad in 2007. After the match, Hogg revealed how he went up to Tendulkar asking him to sing the ball and the former batsman wrote 'Never again, mate' on the ball.

Photos of former Australian spinner Brad Hogg (L) and former Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar (R) (HT Collage)

As it turns out, Hogg never could dismiss Tendulkar and perhaps the dismissal triggered Tendulkar to go after the former chinaman bowler every time he faced him there on. One such battle took place in the Melbourne Test match – the Boxing Day Test in the same year. With India batting in the first innings, a well-set Tendulkar took the attack to Hogg hitting him for two fours and a six in the 39th over to go with a four a couple of overs ago.

Talking about the experience of bowling to Tendulkar, Hogg explained how he was a bit under the pump and how captain Ricky Ponting and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist tried to devise a plan to get Tendulkar out.

"I think it was a tactic from India as well because I knew there was no Shane Warne or Stuart MacGill. If you're going to look at a weak link from that particular team, especially in the bowling department, it was going to be me. And that put a little bit of pressure on me," Hogg told Harmison on the latter's show 'Test of Time' on YouTube.

"There was a moment when Gilchrist and Ponting actually came up and asked me to bowl wrong ones to him. They said what if we keep bowling the wrong ones to leg stump and try to use the minimal footmark outside and try and bamboozle to tie him up. I said 'look… I'm not comfortable with that. I want to keep bowling my leggies. To bowl wrong ones all the time ball after the ball is quite difficult'".

Hogg added that while the idea was tempting, he was more comfortable bowling the traditional leg breaks, and lauded the greatness of Tendulkar.

"So I pulled out of that and I just tried to bowl a little bit quicker and tighter and hoped that I could tie the run rate down but he was a test… Sachin Tendulkar. I only got him out once in my career. I got him to sing it. 'Never happening again'… and it never did. He made sure in that Test series that it was never going to happen again and he just wanted to show his authority," Hogg added.

"I think that's what separates the great batsmen from the not-so-great at Test level. They know when there's the opportunity when to pounce on the weakness of the opposition and I tried to take that risk and that was something I had to stand up to. I did not get his wicket but I felt that I pulled the contest back in our favour."