Corporal punishment may be a method of correction that went out with the dark ages, but today Matthew Hoggard demonstrated the benefits of a damn good thrashing. Hoggard, with his loose-limbed gait, scruffy hair and rubbery face, has all the demeanour of a naughty schoolboy, but he has seldom lived up to the stereotype. Far from flicking ink at the teacher, he was so undemonstrative on his debut – in that seismic two-wicket win at Lord's in 2000 - that Alec Stewart clean forgot he was on the field.

And until recently, Hoggard had never been on anything but his best behaviour. He had never grumbled about a lack of opportunities on two gruelling tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2000-01, and breezed his exams by taking 20 wickets in his three outings. When Darren Gough pulled out of the India trip the following year, England had a ready-made replacement, who would run in all day, and who, like his countless adorers in the Barmy Army, would sing to himself to keep his spirits high.

But since peaking on that damp and dewy day in Christchurch, when he swung through the New Zealand batting card for a career-best 7 for 63, he had steadily begun to lose his je-ne-sais-quoi. By the beginning of the English season, Hoggard was looking positively haggard.

As an England cricketer, he had not once stepped out of line. But, in a woeful display in the first Test at Lord's, he lost his line – and his length as well. And Nasser Hussain, for the first time, lost his rag.

What was said in the dressing room that day – to all of England's bowlers – remains a secret. But two days later, when Yorkshire met Essex in the B&H Cup, there was no place to hide. Hussain administered a public flogging to his errant pupil, carting him for 65 runs in his 10 overs on his way to a matchwinning 136.

Hoggard has clearly heeded the lesson. He has not yet been at his very best in this match, but his two early wickets, both to beautiful late-dipping yorker-length deliveries, may prove to be crucial strikes on another deceptively flat track.

And, to prove he is still the teacher's pet really, he even stepped into line with his batting.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd