Former England ace rekindles his passion for game at Lightning

FORMER England pace bowler Matthew Hoggard says female cricketers should not consider any limits to how fast they can bowl or how hard they can hit the ball.

Hoggard, who is working with Loughborough Lightning as they prepare for this Saturday’s start of the Kia Super League, believes the gap between women’s and men’s cricket in terms of pace and power can only narrow as the women’s game develops.

“The game has come a long way from where it was and among women players now the skill levels are right up there,” Hoggard said, as the complete Lightning squad assembled for the first time at the ECB’s National Performance Centre in Loughborough, where they are based.

“You could see that in the World Cup. The standard of cricket was really high and that was reflected in a full house at Lord’s for the final.

“Maybe the pace at which those skills are executed is not at the same level as the men’s game but that can change.

“If you look at other sports, the standards rise as the sport develops. We are lifting heavier, throwing further, running faster.

“Look at women’s tennis. John McEnroe may say female players don’t measure up to men but women’s tennis is great to watch.

“You have to remember that women’s cricket is still in its infancy, really. There has not been too much money invested in the past and girls have not had the clear pathway into senior cricket that the boys have had, so they have not played as much.

“But that is changing now. Women are playing much more cricket and with that you will see the women’s game coming on in leaps and bounds.

“There are already women playing who can hit the ball a very long way and whose skills are good enough to hold their own in men’s cricket, certainly at club level.”

Hoggard was a 2005 Ashes winner with England who played for Yorkshire for 12 years before finishing his career at Leicestershire in 2013. He has been part of Lightning’s coaching staff since May, working alongside head coach Salliann Briggs.

“I’ve developed a good relationship with the players in the couple of months I’ve been here,” he said. “You need that time to build up trust and a good rapport.

“They’ve already got skill levels that are right up there.

“What I can bring is a lot of experience and knowledge and I’m trying to pass that on to them so they can have clarity of mind and develop more game savviness, so they know how they can impart their skills to the best effect.”

Hoggard says working with the Loughborough players has rekindled his passion for the game.

“When I finished playing I wanted to take some time out from cricket,” he said. “I didn’t want to go straight into coaching for the wrong reasons.

“I did a number of different things. I worked for a foreign currency company, I’ve done a bit of after-dinner speaking and I’m going back to university to do my masters in sports directorship.

“This position came out of the blue, really. It started with an email from Sallian, who I’d been introduced to by Russell Cobb (men’s head coach at Loughborough MCCU), and when she offered me the opportunity to get involved I jumped at the chance.

“It’s a good fit for me because I live only half an hour away from here.

“I’m really enjoying my time here and I’ve found that my passion for being involved in cricket is growing again.”

Lightning, captained by England’s Wolverhampton-born Sussex star Georgia Elwiss and featuring an Australian trio of overseas players in all-rounder Elysse Perry, batsman Elyse Villani and leg-spinner Kristen Beams, open their Kia Super League fixtures with a trip to meet Western Storm at Taunton on Saturday, August 12.