Matthew Hoggard's Test chances have been given a major boost by England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller.

The Yorkshire bowler, who has taken 248 wickets in 67 Test matches, was left out of the second and third games in the recent series win in New Zealand.

It was a decision that surprised many, considering Hoggard has been England's leading pace bowler since the start of the momentous 2005 Ashes series.

But Miller insists the White Rose ace is still at the forefront of the selectors' minds.

The former Derbyshire man, however, did stress that he thought dropping 31-year-old Hoggard was the right decision on the back on New Zealand's opening win at Hamilton.

Miller said: "Matthew just looked like he was a little bit flat. We had to win two games and we needed something special.

"It's not the end of the road for him - he knows that and we know that. I know he'll fight back to get his place."

The selection of James Anderson and Stuart Broad ahead of Hoggard and Steve Harmison caused a number of pundits to criticise the decision.

But Miller explained: "We were consulted (by Peter Moores and Michael Vaughan), though we (the selectors) were in a different part of the world at that stage.

"But they had this feeling in the changing room of what was necessary. They then got in touch with us and unless there's something dramatically wrong in what they're feeling, you would let the captain and coach have their way. The end product is they got it right."

Yorkshire's two-day friendly against Durham at Headingley was abandoned at lunch on the second day.

Durham resumed on 178 for five but declared on 212 for six, James Lee taking the only wicket to fall on day two.

Meanwhile, Headingley has been awarded the fourth npower Ashes Test match against Australia next summer. Tickets for the match, which starts on Friday, August 7, will go on sale in October.

Other international fixtures at Headingley to the end of the 2011 summer: ODI v Zimbabwe, 2009. Test match v Bangladesh and ODI v West Indies, 2010. ODI v Sri Lanka and possibility of T20 international v India, 2011.

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