I had hoped to be writing to you now telling you about my first tentative steps towards my recovery. I had even gone so far as to send for some Puma kit so I could begin batting again when I suffered a setback a couple of weeks ago and had to have another operation on my right knee. The operation was obviously something I didn’t want, but for the past few weeks I’d been training hard and not seen too much sign of progression.

 

I was still sore on the inside of the knee, but it got to a point where I had to push on with my training. I had to go on a running machine which takes all the weight off you, but you still have to use your running action and I didn’t feel up to it. I phoned my surgeon, Andy Williams, back in the UK who gave me the option of seeing someone out in Dubai, but I thought the best thing to do was get on a flight that night and go back to London.

 

He lined up a scan for me and after viewing those results, Andy booked me in for a scope the following day to check the micro-fracture operation I’d had last August was going well. The good news is he is extremely pleased with my progress in that direction, although he thought it would be a good idea to clean up the knee and took some scar tissue out, which has put me back a further six months. I suppose trying to come back for the IPL and the Twenty20 World Cup was a little optimistic in hindsight. The operation I had the morning after our Ashes victory has a history of taking up to 12 months recovery time and that’s what we’ve reverted back to now. It was a big operation andnow at least I know the main thing that was wrong with my knee is healing.

 

The hard part, of course, is that it means another six months of rehabilitation, which I must admit I’m not that thrilled about, but by doing that hopefully I will be adding some time to the end of my career. I am gutted to miss out on the IPL for a number of reasons and not just the money. I was looking forward to playing for Chennai in India, which would have been a fantastic experience. I enjoyed my short time with them last year when the IPL was played in South Africa, but playing for an Indian team in India would have been something else. I do feel affiliated to Chennai and I know my contract with them is now up, but I hope to play for them in the future.

 

I suppose the good thing to come out of all this is that Andy is very pleased with the progress my knee has made and that has enabled me to change my priorities slightly. He believes there is no reason I can’t play the longer form of the game and having the chance to play four-day cricket for Lancashire again at the back end of this summer, is a big boost to me. I may be able to play six or seven championship games and hopefully Lancashire will be in a position to challenge for the championship and I can win some silverware with them.

 

That is a challenge which excites me hugely. One of my best mates, Glen Chapple, is captain and he’s done the job so well and I want to play under him. I am also keen to work with Peter Moores as coach, who is someone I respect and like and I’m keen to play for him again. I would like to give something back to the club because since I joined them at nine years old, they have supported me all the way through. We have enjoyed the good times and they have been very supportive thought the bad times and this is my way of repaying them.

 

I was amused by some of the reports that I would be trying to play in next winter’s Ashes series after it was announced I was going to play all forms of cricket for Lancashire. I’m passionate about playing for Lancashire and winning things with them and that is my sole focus now. I’m not sure where these reports surfaced from but I’m sure anyone who has ever played Test cricket would like another shot at it if they had the chance. Ian Botham, David Gower, Geoff Boycott would all love to still be out there and I’m no different, but I retired because my body can’t stand up to it and that hasn’t changed. I am confident I will be able to cope with playing four-day cricket for Lancashire, but the intensity of Test cricket is too great.

 

I have had some good news to report since I returned to Dubai just over a week ago. As regular readers of this blog will remember, I moved the family out here to help with my rehabilitation and we have loved it out here. The facilities are great, the climate is good for getting outdoors and doing things and the kids are settled in school here, so it was an unexpected bonus to be asked to become an ambassador of Dubai. We will be required to promote Dubai as a great place to live, a venue for sport, business and tourism, which is not very hard because we‘re enjoying living out here so much anyway.

 

Of course, I miss my friends and family back home, but we’ve seen quite a few of them anyway since we’ve been out here. Just in the last week I’ve spent time with Steve Harmison, who came out for a few days holiday, while Andrew Chandler, my long-standing friend and manager, has been based here for the last week. I have also enjoyed meeting up with some of the golfers in the ISM stable like Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke.

 

I’ll be in touch again soon when I have more news about my recovery, although I know from experience it will be a long process before I’m back playing again.