Former England seamer Matthew Hoggard is shocked and bitterly disappointed at Yorkshire's decision not to renew his contract after 15 years at the club.
Hoggard, 32, claims the county are letting him go for financial reasons.
"I'm disappointed, gutted, angry, a mixture of thoughts and emotions," Hoggard told BBC Sport.
Yorkshire confirmed Hoggard has not been offered a new contract, saying he rejected an "extremely competitive" offer at the start of the season.
Hoggard has only ever played domestic cricket for Yorkshire, making his county debut in 1996, and has gone on to take 668 wickets in 195 first-class matches.
 | Matthew turned the contract offer down as he wanted a higher salary and a longer contract Yorkshire CCC statement |
He was also the county's leading wicket-taker for the 2009 season, with 46 first-class scalps at an average of 32, including a hat-trick against Sussex.
Hoggard said he had been a loyal servant to the club and was upset he was not given the chance of a proper farewell.
"One thing that really annoyed me was that I only got to say goodbye through the press," he stated.
"We had started talks about being captain. It went from being interested in being captain to 'I'm sorry we're not renewing your contract'."
Yorkshire have denied Hoggard's claim about the captaincy, saying: "This was something that Matthew had personally tabled with Colin Graves, the chairman of Yorkshire CCC.
"Colin informed Matthew that he would feed his request into the next board meeting, but at no stage was Matthew ever offered the position of Yorkshire captain."
Hoggard also said that the county's purse strings were tight following building work on a new stand.
"They have got a new stand being built, they have just relaid the outfield, money is tight and obviously being one of the bigger earners at the club they have decided I'm a person they can do without," added Hoggard.
Yorkshire moved quickly to respond, saying the club were "extremely disappointed" that the player broke the news to the media on Monday, after informing him last Thursday of their decision following "lengthy discussions over the past few months".
Hoggard claimed he had never turned down the contract offer from earlier in the season, instead he asked for time to think about it.
'Hoggard turned down lucrative deal' - Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan
The statement added: "The club has every respect for Matthew Hoggard as a player and as a person, and had been working over the weekend with Matthew's representatives at the Professional Cricketers' Association to ensure the news broke at a mutually agreeable time, thereby assisting his transition to a new county in the most positive manner possible.
"An extremely competitive two-year contract, with the option of a third year based on performance, was offered to Matthew at the beginning of the season; a deal that would have retained his position as one of the highest earners at the county.
"Matthew turned that contract offer down as he wanted a higher salary and a longer contract.
"The club and player agreed that they would review the situation after the season had ended. Over the course of the summer the club has reviewed its playing staff for 2010 and made plans to secure a number of key players.
"This has become increasingly costly due to the tightening of work permit regulations for overseas players and the demand for young England-qualified talent.
"Following this meeting the club's chief executive, Stewart Regan, was asked to review the 2010 playing budget with Martyn Moxon, director of professional cricket. As a result of this review, Matthew's appraisal was postponed until Thursday 8th October."On 23 September, the Yorkshire board of directors met to review outstanding contractual matters.
"At the meeting last Thursday, Matthew was informed that the board had made the decision not to offer him a new contract.
"This decision had been made in light of a number of factors - the current economic climate, the player's contractual requirements and a detailed analysis of the make-up of the professional squad for the 2010 season."
From next season, the England and Wales Cricket Board is offering incentives to counties to play younger players to aid their development.
Under the scheme, counties will be eligible for payouts for matches in which they field two under-22 and three under-26 players.
 Hoggard took 16 wickets in England's Ashes series win in 2005 |
"The formula is you can only play one player over the age of 31 - we've played three, maybe four, this year," commented Hoggard.
"If want to win games, if you want to win the championship, you've got to play your best players. Being the leading wicket-taker last season I consider myself one of the better players."
However, the 2005 Ashes winner, who played 67 Tests for his country, taking 248 wickets, is hopeful of continuing his playing career.
"I'm looking for a job. I'm still fit, I didn't miss any games last year through injury," he added.
"I'm the leading wicket-taker, I've got a lot to offer and my experience is second to none in the County Championship."
Hoggard was dropped by England after the first Test in New Zealand in March 2008, and has not played for his country since then.
Although he was briefly recalled to the squad that summer, he was overlooked for the 10-wicket defeat by South Africa at Headingley, his home ground, in favour of the uncapped Darren Pattinson - and lost his central England contract in September 2008.
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