I am excited about returning to Essex for some much-needed cricket. It is going to be a big season for the club and for me as we both have targets we need to achieve. 

It was a frustrating season for me Pakistan in as much that I started two months late because of the broken finger that I sustained playing for Essex at the end of last season. Then we didn’t have much Test cricket and the cricket we did play against Sri Lanka saw lifeless pitches that were a batsmen’s paradise.

I won’t comment on the awful and tragic events of what happened in Lahore as enough has been said on that already. But in terms of the little amount of cricket we played was real hard work for us bowlers. Even the great Muttiah Muralitharan struggled to make an impact!

But on the positive side of things, when I did start playing again after my finger had healed I felt fitter than I had ever before because of all the gym work and training I had done before I started playing. And then when I did start bowling I felt in good rhythm and even managed to take my career best figures of 8-59 for Habib Bank.

While I am still out of Pakistan‘s one-day side I am relishing the opportunity to play so much county cricket again for Essex and get some overs under my belt. It is important that we don’t just play well in the limited overs matches this year like last season and that we also make a real strong push for promotion to Division One of the County Championship.

We have a very young and talented team with players like Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara, Varun Chopra mixed with other good players like Graham Napier, our captain Mark Pettini, our seasoned all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate and fast bowler David Masters. While we know we will be without Cooky, at least, to England duty for most of the season there is still enough quality and depth for us to make a challenge.

For me, I also want to keep showing people that I am not just a bowler suited to Test and first-class cricket. I was selected in Pakistan’s 30-man Twenty20 World Cup squad and I would dearly love to be named in the final 15 on May 1. The fact the event is in England where I was one of the top wicket-takers in the Twenty20 Cup last year will hopefully aid my case. The selectors know that I am used to the conditions.

My other goal is playing in the IPL. It is frustrating to watch it this year and seeing how much the ball is turning on those South African pitches. I would have backed myself to have taken quite a few wickets on those pitches. In fact we are seeing all over the world now how spinners are becoming an important weapon for fielding teams in twenty20. Maybe it will happen for me next year?

Hopefully I will be in England in time to play my first match of the season against Kent at Chelmsford on April 29. There’s a lot to play for!