Published: 29/10/2009 11:10:57 | Modified: 30/10/2009 12:36:48
Author: Mark Baldwin | All Contributors
Essex drop Hoggard interest
Essex have decided not to purse their interest in former England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard. The county had been linked with the player who was released by Yorkshire at the end of the 2009 season but negotiations for a move to Chelmsford have fallen through.
“We’ve spoken with the player’s agent in the past couple of days and have now decided to pull out of the discussions,” Essex coach Paul Grayson revealed to Test Match Extra. “The financial package that Matthew wanted was considerable and we couldn’t meet the demands he wanted so we won’t be pursing our interest in him.
"The economic situation has affected many county clubs, ourselves included, and whilst we do have money in the budget for a quality player, it isn’t a bottomless pit. Also, we do need any player that we bring in to be competing for a place in all forms of the game and Matthew has not played a lot of white ball cricket.
“So we are going to move on from that and start looking elsewhere. Obviously it would gave been superb to have had him in the Championship side but I think that given all the circumstances, we have made the right decision.
“We are always looking for new players to bring in but they do have to be better than those we have and there really aren’t too many players out there. The fans look and say ‘We could do with another batter or bowler or all-rounder’ and maybe we could but you have to ask who is readily available at the right price.”
Hoggard would certainly have bolstered the pace attack of a side that relied heavily on leg-spinner Danish Kaneria last season and Grayson admits that the question of the availability of the Pakistan specialist, who claimed 75 Championship wickets in 2009, is affecting forward-planning.
“Danish has agreed to come back to us but Pakistan are touring here next year and the Pakistan Cricket Board will have to decide how much county cricket they want him to play,” he explained. “If the PCB don’t want him to play in our early season games, then we could decide to bring in a fast bowler for the first few weeks, so we’ll just have to keep an eye on that one and act accordingly when we know their decision.”
With another spinner required should Kaneria be forced to miss much of the season, there have been rumours linking the county with New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori but the Essex coach refused to speculate on that possibility or the identities of other would-be targets.
“We have drawn up a list of players that we like and we will be pursuing them but only when we complete negotiations, will we make an announcement,” he insisted. Whilst the county look to bolster their squad ahead of the challenge of first division Championship cricket for the first time since 2003, batsman Varun Chopra has opted to pursue his career elsewhere.
Grayson explained the reasons behind the player’s move to Warwickshire. “We were disappointed to lose Varun and we had offered him a one-year extension to his contract back in June but he felt he wanted to leave the decision whether to sign until the end of the season and see where he stood at that time,” he stated.
“Having considered the situation, he felt that it might be in his interests to move on and I can understand that. He wanted guarantees about a place in our side but we couldn’t give him that, we’ve got players like Tom Westley and Jaik Mickleburgh coming through and we’ve also got Billy Godleman from Middlesex and so there is a lot of competition for places.
“We could also have Ravi Bopara for some of the time and even Cookie (Alastair Cook). Varun was out of contract at the end of the season and became a free agent so he took up the offer from Warwickshire. It’s a brave move and a new challenge for him but he goes with our good wishes.”