No shirt, but total recall on sixes

THERE is no truth to the rumour Cricket Wellington are so strapped for cash that there was not enough in the pot to get Brad Hodge his own shirt.

The star Firebirds Twenty20 import was conspicuous for two things over the weekend: the quality of his hitting while finishing not out in Wellington’s successful chases against Auckland and Central Districts, and playing in Jeetan Patel’s spare shirt.

The word Patel was taped over for the second game, which only served to make it more noticeable. But there was a simple explanation.

‘‘Brad Hodge should stop taking it home to Melbourne and forgetting to bring it back,’’ laughing Wellington coach Jamie Siddons said of why the import did not have a shirt.

‘‘He thought it was cricket bag and it wasn’t.

‘‘So he’s obviously packed it in his luggage and taken it home to wash it and forgot to bring it back.’’

Hodge made 84 from 42 balls in Wellington’s win over Auckland, even though it took him 10 deliveries to get off the mark.

‘‘You wouldn’t believe how rusty he was in the nets the day before.

‘‘[In the match] he changed his bat and he changed his gloves and he tried to change everything and then the next two balls went for six and he was away,’’ Siddons said.

While the coach was able to clarify why Hodge was in someone

in

his

‘You wouldn’t believe how rusty he was in the nets the day before. [In the match] he changed his bat and he changed his gloves and he tried to change everything and then the next two balls went for six and he was away.’

Wellington coach Jamie Siddons on Brad Hodge else’s shirt, he had more trouble with a Luke Woodcock mystery.

The Firebirds all-rounder had an unfortunate moment under a high catch in Auckland, after appearing to decide it was sailing into the stands for six. The ball instead landed behind him, before trickling over the boundary for four.

‘‘You’ll have to ask Woody; noone’s really been game to ask him yet. We’re not sure what our answer would be. It was sort of brought up over a beer but nothing really came from it.’’

Siddons’ masterplan paying off