'Rocket' Rodney Hogg entertains cricket community in Indonesia

Indonesian team members with Hoggie © ICC

Former Australian Test Fast Bowler, Rodney Hogg, entertained the cricketing community in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 28th, when he spoke at the annual cricket dinner at the Hotel Mandarin, Jakarta organized by the Jakarta Cricket Association (JCA).

"Rocket" Rodney poked fun at himself throughout his after dinner speech, relating stories about his anonymity in contrast to his first Ashes series where he took 41 wickets at an average of 12.85, making him the most efficient bowler in the history of Ashes cricket. His speech included a humorous account on being twelfth man during the Dennis Lillie "Aluminium bat" episode, Shane Warne's arrival on the district cricket scene, getting death threats in Bangalore, and how it feels to see a 17 year old guide a four between slip and gully to reach his hundred when you're at the end of your cricketing life.

On the morning prior to the dinner, Rodney took part in a coaching clinic organized by the JCA and held at the British International School in Jakarta. The clinic was attended by some eighty Indonesian and expatriate schoolchildren, who were able to pick up useful hints and tips from the former fast man. The clinic also saw Indonesian Cricket Foundation (ICF) appointees in attendance and three ICF funded coaches based in Bali were also on hand to take the kids through their paces.

During the weekend, Rodney was also able to attend an indoor net coaching session held for the squad of the Indonesian national team that is busily preparing for the upcoming ICC EAP Cricket Cup that will be held in Vanuatu in September. He commented "It's been a great experience for me to come to Jakarta and see what's going on, the JCA and ICF is trying to do great things with the kids here and get them excited about playing cricket. The local kids were great, friendly and full of smiles it was a real pleasure." He added "I'm impressed with how seriously the national team is taking their preparations for the upcoming tournament in Vanuatu. The skipper even told me that he has banned the squad from drinking for two weeks, I was amazed, but I'm sure it will all pay off for them in the end."

Hoggie with most promicing youngster award winners © ICC

The dinner is an annual event organized every year in Jakarta and acts as the main fund raiser for cricket along with being the end of season prize giving and awards ceremony for the JCA cricket league. This year Senayan CC were crowned champions after finishing the season undefeated, and Mustafa Rangwala, a Senayan player, was presented with the Player of the Tournament Award by Rodney Hogg.

Previous years have seen the likes of Fred Trueman, Viv Richards, Ian Botham, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Geoff Lawson, and Dean Jones speaking at the event.

Over US$ 10,000 were raised at the dinner, the majority of which was raised from auction items donated by the ICC or brought by Rodney Hogg from his own personal collection, these included the following:

James Arthur, ICF President, commented "It's been another successful dinner. As a result of the money generated tonight we'll see even more Indonesian kids playing cricket in the coming year it all bodes well for the future of cricket in the country."

For further information on the Jakarta Cricket Association: https://groups.yahoo.com/group/jakartacricketassociation