Brad Hogg reveals he considered suicide after his retirement from international cricket

Cricketers and their autobiographies have caught the headlines over the last few weeks. Several former cricketers have revealed their personal experiences, the latest one being Australia’ s Brad Hogg.

The former Australian cricketer has shockingly claimed in his book that he contemplated suicide in the wake of his retirement from the international stage.

The left-arm spin bowler launched his autobiography - The Wrong'Un on Sunday. The former Perth Scorchers star gave details about his battle with depression and how he turned to heavy drinking . The spinner, in his book, explained about one terrible instance when he decided to commit suicide.

He wrote, "I parked my car at Port Beach and went for a walk. I’d stare at the sea and think, I could swim out to that groyne, and if I make it back fine. If I don’t make it back … well, hard luck."

Hogg stated that he was in no position to handle the situation as he there was no one next to him during the tough times. That was when the bowler decided to let everything down to fate. "I was prepared to let fate decide. I was in a really dark place," he wrote. The spinner went on to state that he drove to Fremantle four times in his attempt to commit suicide and each time he thought about doing something drastic.

The left-arm spin bowler retired from the national team in 2008 in a vain attempt to save his 'icy cold' marriage to then-wife Andrea. He wrote, "It was more about contemplating what it would be like if I had decided to end it all. Nonetheless, it was frightening that I was having these negative thoughts on a regular basis."

In the chapter titled ‘The Collapse’, the spinner confirmed that marital problems was the reason behind his shock retirement from cricket at the end of the 2007-08 summer. He mentioned that he started to cry uncontrollably while fielding during his seventh and final Test, against India in January 2008 at the Adelaide Oval.

Hogg claimed that he didn’t watch cricket for almost a year and recalls a drunken episode at a one-day international at the WACA Ground, which ended in him sleeping in the bushes as he walked home from the Raffles Hotel.

Hogg returned to domestic cricket for the first Big Bash League in 2011-12 at the age of 40 and was selected in the Australian Twenty20 side less than three months later. He has played five seasons with the Scorchers, taking 46 wickets. Hogg, 45, will play for the Melbourne Renegades in this summer’s BBL.