Hodgkinson was born at Derby, the second son in a family of six children, and educated at Derby School. He ran a family grocery business "Austin Hodgkinson", having as a result little time to spare for the sport. He made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1935 season against the touring South Africans in May. In the match, he made 44 runs including nine fours which came mainly from drives and this was the side's top score in the match and his own career best score. He made two more first-team appearances for the Derbyshire team in 1935 and one in the 1937 season. Otherwise, he played mainly in second team games in the pre-war period.