WORCESTERSHIRE bowling coach Matt Mason believes signing Matthew Hoggard would be ‘‘priceless’’ in helping the county’s crop of promising young pacemen develop their games.

And he thinks the 32-yearold would benefit from a change of county after spending his entire career at Yorkshire and have a point to prove after being axed by England just over a year ago.

The Royals have given Yorkshire 28 days notice of approach to speak to Hoggard, who is out of contract at the end of the season, and 23-year-old paceman Ajmal Shahzad.

Mason has been working with the likes of Chris Whelan, Gareth Andrew, Imran Arif and Richard Jones but admits the arrival of Hoggard would also benefit them.

Mason, who is also still a first-team player at New Road, said: ‘‘Matthew Hoggard would be a massive asset to our young fast bowlers.

‘‘Anyone with that sort of experience, especially at international level, and what they would bring to our younger bowlers is priceless – and also what he would bring as a performer.

‘‘He is still a very good bowler. We can’t forget that.

Just because he has finished playing for England doesn’t mean he is not still a class performer and he would be a great addition to our squad.

‘‘Maybe he would also get a new lease of life. That can happen. When you are an older player and have spent a lot of time at one club, sometimes a change is as good as a rest.

‘‘When you move, you are keen to impress and it might just be a little injection for him and he might just want to remind a few people ‘I was once a great Test bowler for England’.

‘‘I am sure he doesn’t think he is finished as a bowler and if he was to come to Worcester, he would be a great asset for us.’ ‘‘If we get back to the type of pitches we have played on the last couple of years, certainly he would be a handful if the ball swings.

‘‘But again he has had so much experience, he could adapt his bowling to any sort of surface.

‘‘One of the reasons he might look to move clubs, is that he hasn’t played a lot of one-day cricket for Yorkshire.’’ Hoggard, whose last England appearance was in March 2008 against New Zealand, is Yorkshire’s leading wicket-taker with 15 victims in the LV County Championship this season.