SIMON Katich has revealed he may play for Hampshire beyond 2012.

The Australian played for Hampshire from 2003-05 and returns to The Rose Bowl as the county’s overseas player next summer.

Now he is not contracted by Australia, the 36-year-old could also be back in 2013.

Katich said: “We have spoken about the possibility of me going back to Hampshire in 2013, it’s possible that could happen, but I told the club that I don’t want to think more than a year ahead, which I think is fair for both parties.

“Once we’ve seen how next year goes then we can always talk about 2013 then.”

Katich was Hampshire’s player of the year for scoring 1,143 first-class runs at 60.15 in 2003.

He has since played for Derbyshire and Lancashire, but has always regarded The Rose Bowl as his second home.

“I’m really looking forward to going back,” he said. “I really enjoyed my time starting in 2003 and the club have played a big part in my career.

“I learned a lot about batting on lively wickets that were helpful to bowlers and also got used to playing day in and day out over a long season, which all helped me in the early part of my career.

“In the past few years Hampshire have certainly played some good Twenty20 cricket, and their one-day cricket has been good despite going down in the championship last year.

“Hopefully that’s an area where I can make a big difference by scoring lots of runs and taking a few wickets as well.”

Katich’s left-arm chinaman yielded 23 wickets for Hampshire in 2003 and he is currently enjoying his most prolific spell with the ball since then, for New South Wales.

As Imran Tahir’s replacement, he should get opportunities to bowl in tandem with Danny Briggs, below.

“I’ve worked a lot on my bowling so will probably be more of an all-rounder in the next few years,” he continued.

“I’ve been bowling a lot for New South Wales, I’m not captain this year and having less responsibility means I can concentrate on my bowling more.

“I’ve enjoyed taking a few wickets, the body is good so that’s something I’m looking forward to doing as well.

“I believe the Rose Bowl wicket probably suits the spinners a bit more now which will be good so hopefully I can impart a little bit of experience to the young guys.

“But the key for all of us, no matter if we are experienced or not, is to perform and to win games of cricket which I love to do.”

Jimmy Adams, Dimi Mascarenhas and James Tomlinson are the only survivors from Katich’s previous spells with the county.

“James has been around the traps for a while now, he bowls with good pace. Jimmy has played a fair bit of cricket now and captaining the side is going to be a fantastic opportunity for him to come to the fore.

“When you throw the younger guys in with the experienced players like myself and Dimi, hopefully we will have a good blend of experience and youth and will enjoy our cricket as a team.”