Aftab Habib, the England batsman who recently bought out the last year of his contract with Leicestershire, has signed a new three-year deal with Essex.

Habib made his debut for Middlesex in 1992 but was released at the end of the 1994 season. He had trials with Somerset and, ironically enough, Essex, but spent 1995 playing Minor Counties cricket with Berkshire. During that season he also had a trial with Leicestershire, when he played in three first-class matches and averaged 76.66. That was enough to earn him a contract.

He was awarded his county cap in 1998, and the following summer was selected by England for two Tests against New Zealand, without conspicuous success.

Nevertheless, he continued to score prolifically for Leicestershire, helping the county to two championship titles in 1996 and 1998 and earning two England A tours. By the end of the 2001 season, his first-class average stood at 44.77 after 150 innings. He has scored 15 first-class centuries.

Once he had concluded his contract buy-out negotiations with Leicestershire, Essex were widely tipped as being his destination, and the 30 year-old is delighted with the move.

"I am truly excited by having signed for Essex and can't wait for the season to start. Essex is a big club, having enjoyed a lot of success over the years. Obviously another attraction of the club is its ambition, demonstrated by the signing of Graham Gooch as coach. One of my goals is to get back into the England team, and I am looking forward to working with Graham and my other new team-mates in an effort to get as many runs as possible for Essex."

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