Andy Hodd (Page 4 of 10)

belive it or not this isnt about Hodd

its an offshoot of what we where talking about

Yes Loco, a superb innings, amazing what a bit of confidence can do, his 100 against Middlesex has done him the world of good.

He is a very accomplished batsman and I don't remember seeing him make a false shot in either innings. What a pleasure to watch and its so good to see his confidence restored.

Well done Hoddy! i hope this will be the start of consistent contributions throughout the season, we need them in the lower middle order.

Just listened to Muzzer's post Middlesex match interview.
He took Hoddy off to the nets to work with him on his batting before that game.
Bingo !

Last edited by 3rdman (11-05-2010 10:03:24)

Welcome Nawab of Tonk.
You make some very valid points. Unfortunately a messageboard is no different than the conversations that would go on in a pub with people airing their diverse opinions. But in many ways it is worse because most messageboards have faceless people hiding behind keyboards not brave enough to actually say who they are.
Myself and several other on this board have often mentioned that criticism of players should be avoided. But there are usually plenty of replies that coming flying back explaining about it being a tough world and freedom of speech etc.

On the flipside messageboards have also proved to be a very valuable asset, as is being demonstarted at the moment with the debate raging about the future of domestic cricket and the impact of T20.

The internet has completely let the genie out of the lamp and it will never now return. If officially hosted messageboards shutdown an unofficial one would be up and running within days and the same comments would continue being passed.
All we can do is try and police messageboards ourselves and people like yourself occasionally remind everyone of the impact it has on individuals.
I've often felt like walking away from the messageboard when being criticised for trying to protect it from inappropriate uses. But I recognise that there are no rules and also who am I to pass judgement what is acceptable or not?  Fortunately on this particular messageboard we have built up a fairly open community where we have developed an amount of accountability by a lot of us getting to know each other even if we don't always necessarily agree.

I don't think some people will ever stop criticising individuals when they are struggling and the critics can usually find a way of justifying their comments as part of the bigger picture.

By now there most be books or articles out there which discuss the phenomenon of messageboards. If there are any, perhaps someone could point me in the right direction, I'd be interested to read them.

Keep posting Nawab.

i aree in part... i think you have to give overs ago and i dont mean one or two games. dont forget its just two good games, as some of the life members where saying to me "just becouse Hodd has a good game or two dont mean that he is irreplaceable,"

Before anybody decides to jump on the bandwagon and decides to aim personal abuse at me for my opinion (mentioning no names), I do congratulate Hodd for playing so well.

Excellent post, Nawab.  I couldn't agree more.

Anyone who knows anything about Andy Hodd knows he has a great deal of natural talent.  It cannot be easy living in the shadow of Matt Prior and Hoddy has suffered a number of knockbacks that must have dented his confidence e.g. after a splendid season in 2007, he
didn't seem to be considered in 2008, scores 101 against Durham in 2009 and then is dropped for the ensuing one day games.  I do hope that he now plays with freedom and confidence throughout the remainder of the season.

Now then Dr Sla, the long standing members in my little group, were speculating on Sunday as to when Hoddy might be awarded his county cap.  Four first class centuries is quite an achievement.  If it was down to me, I would award him his county cap for the excellence of his keeping alone.  In the five games I have watched this season, his keeping has been in a different league to that of the opposing keepers.

Finally, it is evident that Hoddy is popular with many supporters and has given his all to Sussex cricket first as a junior, then as a pro over many years.  That he should be subjected to personal abuse on this messageboard is utterly lamentable.  Those responsible need to hang their heads in shame

Yes it is time Hodd was given the county cap.

Generous and welcome response from Dr Sla.

Just a couple of points.  After a player has a good first season, the second is something of a test.  The word goes out around the circuit about a player's strengths and any weaknesses.  I think this may have been a contributing factor with Andrew Hodd - he seemed to get caught a lot lbw, on the crease, and caught behind playing away from his body.  These problems are both related to footwork - and I noticed that Andy, in common with many young players, took up a stance with his feet a full pace apart.   This generally means that when playing back, the best you can do is to get the front foot back to the crease.  It is also a bit easier to get the front foot closer to the ball with a step forward than trying to adjust when the feet  are a full pace apart.  Murray Goodwin observed that Andy was anxious about his technique, getting (probably confliciting) advice from all and sundry.  I notice now that Andy takes up his  stance with his feet about half-a-pace apart - pretty much as Murray Goodwin does. Let's hope this is all sorted out, now.

The other thing is the criticism of Andy Hodd for standing-up to RMJ when the batsman is not dancing down the pitch.  If the 'keeper is not standing-up, some batsmen will take up their stance a couple of feet or so outside the crease.  It can unsettle the bowler, who has  to change his length, and it reduces the chance of an lbw - the batsman is further down the track and there is a better chance of the ball bouncing over.  I understand that Alec Bedser always asked Godfrey Evans to stand-up for this reason.  Of course it makes it more difficult for the 'keeper to take catches, and to prevent byes from balls going down the leg side - so this has to be kept in mind.

Finally, I think there should be some statistics kept on dropped catches - it will be interesting to know who drops a catch, where they were fielding and whether it was a 'definate chance' or a 'half-chance'.  The latter is a bit subjective, but it is something on which, say, John Lees might keep a record.  With 'keepers stumpings and misses, as well as catches, should be recorded.  We would then have some data to examine in evaluating the fielding (there is an impression that Sussex aren't so sharp at close-catching now that Adams and Montgomery are gone) - and we'd be able to compare the records of 'keepers.