Left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan terms his two-month county stint in England as tough but a rewarding one saying he is in perfect shape to start the new season.
"It was a rewarding yet a tough experience which would hold me in good stead for the coming season with India," said Pathan, who would touch his home-base on Wednesday, richer by his county experience in Middlesex.
Pathan said he more or less met the objective with which he set out for England after an indifferent series against Pakistan at home.
"I wanted to go with a relaxed frame of mind. I didn't want to pressurise myself with undue self expectations and to that extent I largely succeeded. I also wanted to claim complete match-fitness," Pathan, who wants to continue in similar vein in next season, said.
Pathan's goal to relax was a well-founded one. He took to the new format of game in the Twenty20 Cup like a duck to water and has impressively pushed Middlesex close to a berth in quarter-finals.
"I head the averages with 12 wickets from six games which is not bad if you consider only four overs a match are allotted to a bowler and 400 runs in 40 overs is a regular occurrence," he said.
Pathan's best was reserved in his final game, a scorcher of a tie against Essex whose supporters created a din at Southgate yet went away in complete silence as their side was humbled by 31 runs.
Pathan took 4 for 27 against a side which had Flower brothers (Andy and Grant) and Ronnie Irani among others. Overall, in none of his six games, he ever conceded more than 31 runs in his spell.
It was different in longer county games where he had only five wickets from three matches though he did his best to pull his weight with the bat, returning an impressive average of 63.00 per innings.
"It is a demanding circuit. Every team has three or four present or former Test players and it is common for you to finish your game, head for the next venue in evening and play a match next day.
"Unlike what I have been used to, getting a break before and after a match, one seems to play cricket in an unbroken sequence in county cricket."
The 20-year-old said he could have put extra pressure on himself in the past season where he picked up only 11 wickets from six Tests in home, including a rather unworthy average of 68.33 against Inzamam ul-Haq's team.
Pathan's woes started right from the time the Australians arrived in India last October. He played the first two Tests, missed the final two and then the first Test against South Africa in Kanpur, where three spinners were played.
There were murmurs he had rushed his return even when not fully fit and his trademark in-swinging deliveries to right-handers was missing.
Even his consecutive five-wicket hauls against lowly Bangladesh didn't redeem his slipping image. Pathan today tends to go along with a few charges but claims the others were drummed up without a basis.
"I could have made the mistake of over-training myself. I used to train so much that even my trainer began to ask me to lay off a bit. I was doing it in the middle of the season which didn't help matter," Pathan said.
"But then injury is part of the game. I don't agree my swing disappeared because I was not completely fit. See, even for the greats like Wasim Akram - not for a second I am comparing myself with the Pakistani great - is it possible to swing it every day.
"I am not offering excuse but that's a fact. There were days where I couldn't bowl with my natural rhythm but it can happen," he said.
The syndrome of fitness though left a definite mental scar for Pathan who was terrified when he wrongly believed a shoulder strain to be an injury before his physio informed him it was no more than a niggle.
"It was a game against Surrey. I made a throw while imbalanced and felt a twang in my shoulder. See in cool weather, sometimes your body is not completely warmed up.
"I was terrified but my physio assured me it was a minor niggle. I went by his words and continued bowling for the rest of my assignment without any trouble.
"I believe it was made into a huge issue in India but it wasn't big."
Pathan now wants to hit the ground running and would lose no time in joining the national camp in Bangalore as soon as he arrives home. He has already spoken to Greg Chappell but isn't giving away much of the conversation.
"It was only a general talk. It wasn't specific. But we have spoken to each other once and I look forward to joining the camp later this week," Pathan said.
