Hodge debuted for the Victorian Bushrangers as a 19-year-old, and was nicknamed "Glovelick" by Dean Jones for the fact that he shared a bunkbed with his brother at the time of his debut. He was also called "Bunkie" for the same reason.

Hodge played Lancashire League Cricket for Ramsbottom in 2000 and 2001 scoring 1000 runs in each season, breaking the clubs batting record in 2001. His bowling also proved useful.

Hodge has played with County Cricket teams Durham, Lancashire, and Leicestershire – where he made his highest first class score of 302*. During his time at Leicestershire, he was accused of cheating by then-Derbyshire captain, Dominic Cork, by claiming a catch when it appeared that he had stepped over the boundary rope in a Twenty20 match in June 2003. Hodge had actually completed the catch cleanly, before running over to the crowd to celebrate. Hodge denied the accusation and considered taking legal action. Cork was sanctioned by the ECB.

Hodge scored many runs for Victoria, and his consistency came together by the 2000–01 season, where he was consistently overlooked for selection, despite being one of Australia's premier domestic batsmen. He has argued he was the victim of New South Wales selection bias.

On 21 November 2007, playing f