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Matthew Hoggard has replaced dropped fellow pace bowler Liam Plunkett in England’s 12-man squad for the fourth Test against West Indies starting at Riverside on Friday.

Hoggard returns after missing the last two Tests with a groin injury. England beat West Indies by 60 runs at Old Trafford here Tuesday to win the third Test and so go an unbeatable 2-0 up in the four-match series.But Plunkett, wayward throughout, had a poor game, with match figures of one for 100, and will now miss the series climax at his Durham home ground.

However, England’s chairman of selectors, David Graveney, said Hoggard had still to prove his fitness. “Matthew has been bowling pain-free for the last few days and he will play for Yorkshire against Northamptonshire in the (one day) Friends Provident Trophy on Wednesday,” he said.

“The next step for him then will be to bowl in the nets at Chester-le-Street on Thursday and show that he is available for selection. If he is fully fit, he will replace Liam Plunkett in our starting line-up for the next Test,” he explained.

“James Anderson will be our standby seam bowler and he will also play for his county, Lancashire, in their Friends Provident Trophy match against Nottinghamshire on Wednesday,” he added.

England fourth Test squad: Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), Alastair Cook (Essex), Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, captain), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Matthew Prior (Sussex, wicket-keeper), Stephen Harmison (Durham), Ryan Sidebottom (Nottinghamshire), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), James Anderson (Lancashire).