ESSEX captain James Foster has backed his side to rediscover their superb end-of-season form this year as the new campaign approaches.

The 34-year-old led his side to five wins in their last five County Championship games and third in the Division Two table, describing their form as the “best it has ever been” since he joined Essex in 1999.

Foster and the rest of his teammates have been limbering up for the new season next month since the end of November.

And the veteran has backed Essex to thrive in all forms of the game when the curtain rises against Kent at the Essex County Ground on Sunday, April 19.

“All the boys are really excited,” said the Essex captain. “This is always the case ahead of a new season and all the guys who have been here through the winter have been working really hard.

“You get a couple of months off at the end of the season and come back ready to train around November time. It is far cry from when I was younger and we used to turn up in March but I love preparing in this way and working so hard over the winter months.

“We want to improve as a team and individuals so we want to put the work in.

“We were playing with a lot of confidence at the end of last season and it is probably the best we have ever played in the four-day format since I joined in 1999.

“We are quietly confident but we know we have to get the basic things right to compete in all formats of the game, which is what we want.

“You play cricket to win and in theory you want to win all three competitions (County Championship, T20 Blast and the One Day Cup). It would take a great effort but we aim to do that.”

Foster says opening their campaign against rivals Kent promises to be a spicy encounter, and says he is looking forward to seeing a familiar face – Matt Walker, who ended his career at Essex in 2011 and went on to become assistant manager, before rejoining Kent in the same role last summer.

“It will be nice to see Matt Walker again,” he laughed. “Kent are a very strong side and they are always difficult to crack and break down. If we can get off to a good start it will give us great confidence.”

Foster admits the visit of Australia at the start of July, before their first Ashes Test with England, is another great occasion for the county, and he believes fans will flock to the ECG for the four-day match.

“It is great news for us. Australia are one of the best cricketing sides in the world, if not the best, and it will be a good test for us. It is great kudos for the club as well to have a four-day match against them so hopefully we can put on a good show against them.

“It is always great to come up against them and I remember when they came here in 2012 they signed lots of autographs and were great with the fans.”

A number of players have missed the pre-season, including Kishen Velani (playing grade cricket for Penrith in Australia), Nick Browne (playing for Mosman, Australia) and Tom Westley (playing for Bloomfield, in Sri Lanka) but Foster believes they will be fit and ready come next month...as will the rest of the players.

“Fitness gets harder for us every year,” he said. “I am in my thirties now so find the recovery harder but it has been a fun winter. Once we get the other boys back from overseas we will be ready to go again.”