Brad Hodge can be revealed as the member of Australian team support staff who landed in hot water for damaging the carpet in the Hobart dressing room after the final game of the Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
Two sources with knowledge of the incident, who would not be quoted publicly, said Hodge, a recurring part-time member of the Australian white-ball coaching staff and former Test player, brought an e-bike into the dressing room after the game.
Brad Hodge working as an assistant coach for Australia.Credit: Getty Images
Hodge then did a series of burnouts on the carpet, damaging the surface and resulting in a complaint from Cricket Tasmania. The bike had been used by another member of the support staff to get to Bellerive Oval
Hodge has been contacted for comment.
“We are aware some damage was caused to the carpet in the Australian dressing room at Bellerive Oval after the Australia-Pakistan T20 and we have apologised to Cricket Tasmania for this,” CA had said in a statement. “The cost of the repairs will be passed on to the person who caused the damage and they will be reminded of their responsibility to take care of the facilities they are privileged to use.”
International matches are run by CA staff, but major venues are owned by a combination of government trusts and state associations. Bellerive Oval in Hobart and Adelaide Oval are the two international grounds under the direct control of their respective states, who in turn are constitutional member owners of CA.
Hodge, 49, played six Tests, 25 ODIs and 15 T20 internationals for Australia over a career that stretched from the mid-1990s to a long Twenty20 franchise career that did not wind up until 2018.
He was part of the coaching staff for Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign in the Caribbean earlier this year, and has also worked in recent years as a Seven commentator.
The tight turnaround between the Pakistan Twenty20 series and the Test matches against India resulted in a large group of coaching staff being required to cover both assignments.
Bushranger Brad Hodge.Credit: Wayne Hawkins
Hodge served as a batting assistant coach alongside Lachlan Stevens, Matt Wade and acting head coach Andre Borovec. Stevens and Borovec have subsequently travelled to Perth to be part of support staff for the first Test against India in Perth.
Another assistant coach, Dan Vettori, was compelled to leave the team camp early to take part in the Indian Premier League auction being held in Saudi Arabia over the weekend. Seven commentators Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer were also similarly engaged, as head coaches of IPL franchises.
“He [Vettori] is still connected with us,” head coach Andrew McDonald said of Vettori. “A lot of pre-planning, prep work going in. The answer is no [it didn’t make a difference], he’s got some commitments elsewhere.
“I think the wicket’s changed considerably. The seam and swing was down compared to yesterday. I thought KL and Jaiswal played extremely well. The morale is always good. It’s a pretty level team. We’ve got some problems to solve. There’s no doubt we’re clearly well behind the game at this stage. India are in the driver’s seat.”
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