Essex have made an excellent start to the new cricket season – but it is now going to get even better.

Leg-spinning wizard Danish Kaneria has finally arrived from Pakistan and he is ready to bamboozle batsmen up and down the country with his array of magical cricketing tricks.

Kaneria has endured the frustration of being stuck in his home land, while the English season got underway.

But he is ready to make up for lost time, starting today when Essex face Kent at Chelmsford.

He said: “My passport was with the PCB ahead of the scheduled tour of Bangladesh but because of security fears, the tour didn’t go ahead.

“This caused problems in obtaining my visa and when I did get my passport back, I was told that I would have to wait 30 days, but thankfully the cricket board and (Essex chief executive) David East managed to sort it out in time for the game against Kent.

“I have been playing domestic cricket and I played in a Test series against Sri Lanka which was just one test match.

“The second test was incomplete because of the attack in Lahore. I was playing domestic cricket for Habib Bank and then I have just been training hard and working hard ahead of the new season with Essex.”

“Personally, I am focusing on the four-day game as we have struggled in comparison to one-day cricket.

“My aim is to help the team win as many games as possible and get maximum points in order to get into the first division.

“And I also want us to play even better in the Twenty20 cup than we did last season and to go a step further than the semi-final of last year.”

However, Kaneria’s involvement with Essex may be cut short if he features in the World Twenty20 tournament in June.

Kaneria has been consistently overlooked by Pakistan’s selectors in the shorter versions of the game – he last played a one-day international in March 2007, while he has never represented his country in Twenty20 cricket.

He said: “I want to show people that I am not just a bowler suited to Test and first-class cricket,” he said.

“I think if I do well for Essex in Twenty20 and one-day cricket then it would be a big plus when the selectors sit down to finalise the Twenty20 squad.

“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.”

Skipper Mark Pettini is delighted Kaneria has arrived, as his inclusion gives the side another dimension.

“It’s great to see Danish,” he told the Gazette.

“He is a match-winner and having a mystery spinner in our side is a real asset.

“He has amazing control for a wrist spinner so I am able to chuck the ball to him and he will do any job I want him to.

“If you have a good leg-spinner they are going to be one of the first picks in the team and we are lucky to have one as good as Danish.

“He loves it here and he gets stuck in with the younger lads, helping them in any way he can. He’s also a bit bonkers and is always the first to arrive for any team-building exercise.”