Red tape dashes Glamorgan's Hogan plan

By Richard Thomas

Glamorgan’s hopes of recruiting Australian fast bowler Michael Hogan have been delayed until next season by red tape Down Under. The original plan was for Hogan to arrive in Wales in July on a three-year deal, but he will now come in 2013.

Hogan was going to use his British passport and then return to Australia as an overseas player but Cricket Australia have blocked that for next year. But the fact 31-year-old is due to retire from Australian domestic cricket in March will not affect him coming to Glamorgan in 2013 and 2014.
 
"Glamorgan have confirmed that Michael Hogan will now be joining the Welsh county at the start of the 2013 season,” a Glamorgan statement read. "Hogan was originally due to join up with Glamorgan for the last two months of the current season but will now see out the final year of his Western Australia contract.

“He has recently announced that he will also retire from playing cricket in Australia at the end of March 2013. He will then join up with his new team-mates ahead of the start of the new season [2013] and will play for Glamorgan for a minimum of two seasons.

"The club has plenty of strength in depth in the bowling department and despite the unfortunate injury suffered by Graham Wagg, its group of talented young seam bowlers such as John Glover, Alex Jones, Mike Reed and Will Owen will now have further opportunities to impress."

Hogan has a British passport and was set to play for Glamorgan as a domestic player for the next three seasons, while also travelling back Down Under to feature for Western Australia as an overseas star.

That plan unravelled when Cricket Australia learned recently that Hogan, who took 46 Sheffield Shield wickets last season, second only to Tasmania’s Jackson Bird, intended to change his national affiliation.

Cricket Australia then told Hogan he could not play for WA as an overseas import, which has prompted him to amend the initial deal with Glamorgan.

"It’s disappointing," Hogan said. "We were really looking forward to it, both my wife and myself. We’d got all the way to the stage where we had our flights booked and everything, and then up popped this ruling that nobody expected and we had to put it all on the back burner."
 

Date: 30/05/2012 12:22:13 by Richard Thomas
In: Today | Glamorgan |