ESSEX bowling sensation Jamie Porter admits he is already eyeing another stellar season next year as he gears up for a winter with England’s young stars.

The 22-year-old was one of Essex’s top performers’ last term, named the county’s bowler of the year after developing into the leader of the four-day game attack.

He ended the season with 50 first-class wickets in just 15 matches to earn a nomination for the LV Breakthrough Player Award, and he was also named in the Potential England Performance Programme by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Porter has begun his training at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough before heading to South Africa in the new year for a two-week training camp, after which he will support the senior England team’s preparations ahead of the start of the One-Day series against South Africa.

And he says he is excited at the opportunities ahead.

“I have got started with the ECB programme and it is going really well,” said Porter, who signed a new three-year deal in September. “We have started working at Loughborough and it is mainly about getting your fitness back at this stage. I have done a lot of strength work and next week we will be working towards some work with the ball.

“I spent last winter at home with Essex and we did similar stuff then but this is a whole new level. The amount of time and money that has been pumped into this programme is exciting and I am just pleased to be a part of it.

“It will be really exciting to work with the guys from the first-team. It will be interesting to see how they work and adapt to playing so much cricket on the road.”

Porter is eyeing success closer to home as well, after Essex ended the season strongly but without any silverware to show for it.

And the man who was bowling in the Shepherd Neame League with Chingford last year says a young Essex side are in a good position to challenge come 2016.

“I am over the moon with my personal performance last season but we still need to push on as a team,” he said. “We have had time to reflect on everything now and I just want to crack on.

“My one day game is something I want to look at next year. We have real strength in the bowling department at the top of the innings but I want to contribute at the back end as well.

“The young talent is great and we can be really excited about that. Dan (Lawrence) showed he could be a matchwinner when he scored a century at Surrey and there are some exciting bowlers as well – people like Aaron Beard – who will have an impact in the future.

“We now need to win something. If you ask anyone in the team they will give you the same answer. We are positive we can get promotion and challenge and that is our goal.”