ENGLAND Ashes winner Matthew Hoggard is looking for a new county after his long association with Yorkshire ended in a war of words this morning.

The 32-year-old told a national newspaper he had "effectively been sacked" after being told his contract would not be renewed after 15 years at Headingley.

Yorkshire countered by pointing out that Hoggard rejected a "lucrative" new deal earlier in the season because he wanted better terms and, with other issues to consider, they were unable to meet them.

The county also expressed their disappointment at Hoggard's decision to speak to the media first and denied any suggestion that they had offered him the captaincy.

Chief executive Stewart Regan said: "Matthew was offered a very lucrative contract at the beginning of the season that would have made him one of the club's highest-paid players. He turned it down, wanting more money and a longer contract.

"We couldn't make the commitment at the time and said we would review things once the season concluded.

"In the meantime a number of things have happened - the tightening of work permit regulations which make it harder to sign overseas players and there is a lot of demand for young English-qualified talent.

"We have had a lot of interest from other counties in our players and therefore we have spent more money in reviewing our playing staff for the 2010 season.

"It was very clear we weren't going to be in a position to take on another large salary.

"We notified Matthew at his appraisal on October 8 we weren't going to be offering him another contract.

"Matthew had made it very clear that unless he got a long contract it was, to use his words, a deal-breaker. The club felt at 32, coming up 33, to be asking for a long contract was not realistic.

"Obviously he has chosen to announce it in the public way he has, which we are disappointed about."

Hoggard was Yorkshire's top wicket-taker in the LV County Championship this year with 46 and his hat-trick in the penultimate game against Sussex contributed significantly to the club's survival in Division One.

During his time with Yorkshire he took 248 wickets in 67 Tests for England and played a key role in the 2005 Ashes victory. He played his last Test in March 2008 and lost his central contract later in the year.

Hoggard has said he still feels he has four years left at county level and will now look forward to a fresh challenge with new team-mates.

He told The Times: "I'm shocked and bitterly disappointed. 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."

He continued: "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."

Yorkshire insist the issue of captaincy was raised only by the player.

"He has said he was holding talks with the club about the possibility of becoming captain," Regan added.

"I can say quite categorically the captaincy has never been offered to Matthew Hoggard. He personally went into our chairman's office and said he would like to stay at Yorkshire as captain.

"It's very sad Matthew has chosen to break the news in the way that he has.

"But he has been one of the country's top bowlers during his time at the club and we wish him every success."