Former England seamer Matthew Hoggard has described himself as bitterly disappointed at Yorkshire's decision to end his 15-year stay at the county.
Former England seamer Matthew Hoggard has described himself as bitterly disappointed at Yorkshire's decision to end his 15-year stay at the county.
The 32-year-old was Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker in the recently completed 2009 County Championship but has not been offered a contract for next year, despite recently discussing the possibility of taking over the captaincy of the club.
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"I'm shocked and bitterly disappointed," Hoggard told The Times.
"I think I've been loyal to Yorkshire. I wanted to commit the rest of my career to the club and I would have relished the thought of captaincy, which I had discussed with (chairman) Colin Graves and (director of cricket) Martyn Moxon.
"Now I have effectively been sacked and I'm not even going to play for Yorkshire again, which makes me incredibly sad."
Hoggard added: "What really upsets me is that I wasn't given the chance in my final game to say goodbye to the Yorkshire supporters, who have been so good to me over the years.
"Other players who knew they weren't going to be around next year were given a handshake and a send-off in front of the fans. All I got after 15 years at the club was a cup of coffee in the chief executive's office," Hoggard said.
Yorkshire said they had axed Hoggard on financial grounds and the move has been linked to the introduction, from next year, of incentive payments from the England and Wales Cricket Board designed to encourage the development of younger players.
Under the scheme, counties will be eligible for payouts for matches in which they field two under-22 and three under-26 players.
Hoggard, who last played for England in New Zealand in March 2008, intends to find another county.
"I was looking forward to using my experience to bring on the next generation of Yorkshire bowlers, but I'll have to do that somewhere else now.
"I still feel as though I've got a good few years in me and it's up to me now to prove that Yorkshire were wrong to let me go."
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