West Indies achieved a remarkable eight-run victory against Australia at the Gabba, with Shamar Joseph delivering an exceptional bowling performance, taking seven wickets to dismantle the Australian batting order. Following the win, West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite revealed that former Australia cricketer Rodney Hogg had called West Indies "pathetic" and "hopeless," which served as inspiration for the team to perform well in the Test. Rodney Hogg has now broken silence over Barthwaite’s reply after the Gabba win.
“I must say we had two words that inspired us in this test match. Mr Rodney Hogg said we were ‘pathetic’ and ‘hopeless’, so that source was our inspiration. We wanted to show the world we’re not pathetic. And I must ask him: Are these muscles big enough for him? (shows his biceps)," said Brathwaite at the post-match presentation.
The 73-year-old Rodney Hogg in response asserted that he played a role in transforming West Indies' cricket fortunes, stating that as the series progressed, the Caribbean team improved. In a statement quoted by sen.com.au, he mentioned: “Well, apparently, I've reinvented West Indies Test cricket. They were hopeless before I made those comments and they've, they've all jumped up and been motivated to play well.
“They came here with six guys that didn't have a Test cap and they were so inexperienced, and you sort of thought, ‘Well, they are a bunch of hopeless players', but give them some game time a few of them showed, some real ability, didn't they? The better that the longer the two games went on, the better they got,” he further added as quoted by Sen.com.au.
'How Good Was My Prediction?'
Hogg mentioned that when the second Test commenced, he believed his prediction was accurate. However, West Indies made a strong comeback and secured a victory in the match.
“When I looked at the West Indies in that first innings in this second Test, I was having a look here and I'm thinking to myself, ‘How good was my prediction?'. They were 5/65 and Starc had three wickets … it was looking like a dead set two-and-a-half-day game."
“What an amazing performance, it was fantastic to see them given an opportunity to play a second Test match against Australia. The fact that they were up at the Gabba, some of them had never played in a day-night game before. There's a pink ball. They're in front of 30,000 or 40,000 people. It's a different experience,” Hogg added.