THE cricket season has finally started and I don't think anyone has been looking forward to it for any longer than I have.

My return to Glamorgan action was at a cold Parks ground in Oxford University. I can honestly say that I have never played cricket in such freezing conditions, some of the lads were fielding with their tracksuits and fleece jumpers under their whites which did not help some of the larger members of the team!

It turned out to be great preparation with the batsmen and bowlers all spending quality time in the middle. There was also some quality time spent off the field! The return of Dean Conway our physiotherapist has given the team an extra lift and has been great for team morale so far.

It is known within the team that Robert Croft has a new flat in Swansea that he is trying desperately to sell, so Dean decided that he would ring up and place an offer.

When we entered the dressing rooms after day two, all desperately fighting over the one radiator, Crofty was listening to his message on his phone from the estate agency bringing him the good news.

He had a huge grin on his face and told all the boys he had received an offer and is going to accept in the morning! Rob then proceeded to ring all his family and buy a few rounds of drinks for the boys in the hotel. Little did he know that the 'Bryn Lara' who actually placed the offer was our physio in disguise.

After some good preparation in Oxford it was back to headquarters in Cardiff for a strategy meeting with a company called Advance who deal with professional football and rugby teams. Their main role is setting out goals for the season and also values the team want to take forward into the new season. It was a really interesting day with guys who work with Manchester Utd and Leeds Rhinos and had set their team values for this season as well.

There is no better cricket ground in the world than Lord's, especially when you're making a comeback. We arrived at Lord's the day before for practice and you're immediately struck by the aura of the place. The practice facilities are first class and we felt at home straight away, as the dressing room attendant was Welsh!

We also had a warm welcome when Max Boyce greeted us at our hotel on arrival and wished us all the best for the game and season. It was nice of him to make the effort and shows that Glamorgan's success reaches further than you think.

It was an annoying start as 74 overs were lost to rain on the first two days. This can be a frustrating time for cricketers watching the rain fall from the heavens. Time is normally spent reading the papers or drinking tea. Not at Glamorgan!

The team has decided to chip in and buy an iPod sound system. With players arguing over which songs were being played it was decided that the only way to settle the argument was with a dance off' between the youngsters' and the veterans'! Obviously the youngsters' came out on top with a rendition of Run DMC, while the version of Barry White by the oldies' was nothing short of pathetic!

Before play was due to start there was an eerie silence in the dressing room. Everyone seemed really focused and determined to get off to a good start. Part of it was emotional as we have worked so hard as a group of players to get to this point and it was the end of a long hard road for me along with Mike Powell. We all wished each other luck with hugs and slaps as we walked through the long room at Lords where the members clapped and cheered. The hairs on the back of my neck felt like they were standing on end and all the hard work over the previous year was certainly worth it.

Lords was the perfect place to resume my career and to be opening the bowling with Australian legend Jason Gillespie seemed slightly surreal as the last time he played at Lord's he was opening with Glenn McGrath during the 2005 Ashes series. After recently returning from the rebel ICL cricket league in India he is really keen to help Glamorgan's push this year for silverware. I'm really looking forward to spending time with Jason and picking his brains about his mental and physical approach to bowling in different situations. If he can come close to emulating what Mike Kasprowicz did for us we will be successful.

With 74 overs being lost it meant forcing a result in the match would prove difficult. We eventually bowled Middlesex out for 309 which was a fine effort on a fairly placid Lord's surface. A huge positive for me and the team was in reply we were 23-3 early on but still managed to get up to 302. In the past I feel we would have crumbled to maybe 150 but it really showed our togetherness and fighting spirit that has been installed by the coaching staff and with our team values that had been set out the previous week.

There were some real positives and we ended up taking 10 points and a statement was made to the other counties Glamorgan are not going to be a pushover for anyone this year.