'I'm just going to play to my strengths,' says Hoggard

Matthew Hoggard has insisted he has done as much as he can, given the circumstances, to persuade the selectors he can play a part in the first Test, which starts at Sabina Park on Thursday (March 11).

Speaking after a few lengths of the pool at the swanky Hilton hotel in Kingston this morning, Hoggard was honest and frank about what he sees as his role in the side, and how he feared the worst after being dropped during the Sri Lanka tour.

"I realise there are only three or four fast-bowling places in the team, and they need to be able to take four or five wickets each," he said. "Competition is very high and there's no luxury zone. You have to perform."

Hoggard did his chances no harm with four wickets during England's second warm-up game, against the University of West Indies Vice-Chancellor's XI. "It was nice to get some mileage in my legs," he said. "The first day of the last game was tough, with the wind, but I got a better rhythm going yesterday. I've given myself a good shout. I've bowled reasonably well, but it's now up to the captain and coach to pick me."

If he does make the starting line-up, it will bring on a mixture of justice and relief in Hoggard, after he was left out of England's final two Tests against Sri Lanka last December, something which clearly still rankles. "To be replaced by a like-for-like bowler [James Kirtley] was especially disappointing," he said. "I didn't feel I had done anything wrong, but it was the coach's decision."

Hoggard revealed that he feared being dumped on the fast-bowling scrapheap: "It's fair to say I was sweating over Christmas about the selection. I didn't want to be cast out into the wilderness - it was a nerve-wracking experience. I eventually found out from my mother-in-law, who saw it on Ceefax. I've learnt that if you don't get a call [from the selectors] you're in, and if you do, you're out."

He also said he now knows his role in the team. "I'm just going to play to my strengths. I'm not as fast as the others, but when I get a good rhythm and bowl a tight line and length, I can dry up the runs and put pressure on the batsmen. It's important to have a reliable bowler in the side. If you look at the way Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath work, McGrath puts the pressure on and gives away no easy runs. The batsmen then have to try and do something different."

Hoggard also paid tribute to Troy Cooley, the bowling coach who is touring with England in the Caribbean. "It's very handy to have Troy here. He's very pro-active, and likes to use his video cameras. He looks after you and encourages you at the end of a day. He knows what it's like being a bowler."