Matthew Hoggard has claimed that being axed for the second Test against New Zealand "hurt like hell".
Dropped seamer shocked to miss the second Test
Matthew Hoggard has claimed that being axed for the second Test against New Zealand "hurt like hell".
Hoggard and Steve Harmison paid the price for England's first Test humiliation against the Black Caps, with the selectors turning to Stuart Broad and James Anderson.
Harmison's omission had been on the cards after another below-par performance for the out-of-sorts Durham man, however the dropping of Hoggard had come as a surprise.
But the gamble paid off for England as Broad and Anderson took 10 wickets in the match to help level the series.
Honour
And although Hoggard was pleased to see England win, it did little to ease the disappointment that he wasn't playing.
"I was chuffed that the lads squared the series in Wellington, but I will not pretend that it was easy looking on from the sidelines," he said in
The Times.
"It hurt like hell to be dropped. Playing for England is the biggest honour in the game, something I am aware of every time I pull on the shirt, and I will be doing everything I can to get back in the team as soon as possible.
"The news came as a shock because it was the first time I had been dropped since the tour to Sri Lanka in December 2003.
"It is not that I took my place in the team for granted. Far from it. It was just that I did not expect to be left out for that game.
"I felt it was a harsh decision."
