This video can not be played

Wiaan Mulder has played 24 Tests, 30 one-dayers and 15 T20 internationals for South Africa. South Africa's Wiaan Mulder hopes to "make a difference" for Essex in the early weeks of the men's county cricket season that starts on Friday. The 28-year-old was the club's marquee winter signing and will be available for the first seven rounds of the County Championship and the early part of the T20 Blast.

Essex last won the title in 2019 but last summer only three of their 14 Championship games ended in victories and they finished in sixth place. "[In] county cricket, there's always challenges. Every ground you go to is always a little bit different - they're the natural challenges of cricket, adapting and finding ways to be as successful as you can," Mulder told BBC Essex.

"I don't know what the plan is or what my role is yet but in the end it doesn't really matter, it's just about putting my best foot forward and seeing where that takes me." Mulder had a chance to beat Brian Lara's world record Test score of 400 not out against Zimbabwe last summer but was on 367 when he declared South Africa's first innings in Bulawayo. He has recently been playing for South Africa in New Zealand and admitted he will need to get over jet lag before Friday's game against Hampshire in Southampton.

County Championship 2026: Clean slate for the domestic game? ECB allows replacements for injury, illness & life events Essex sign Mulder for early part of 2026 season.

The all-rounder was initially interested in joining Hampshire but when that fell through, a chat with South Africa - and now Essex - team-mate Simon Harmer convinced him Chelmsford was the right place for him. "I chatted a little bit with Harmy - I played with him in Pakistan and India - he gave me a rundown and encouraged me to think about it closely. In the end it was a really easy decision to make," he said.

"A lot of the T20 leagues [around the world] are appealing because of the money these days but coming to the UK, the standard of cricket is really high. I think people want somebody who can make a difference, make an impact and hopefully that's what I bring with bat or ball, or in the field, whatever." Mulder has previous county experience with Leicestershire but this will be the first time he has played in Division One of the Championship and he is hoping it will lead to a longer connection with cricket.

"Who knows how long I've got playing for South Africa... Availability for county teams for the full season is quite attractive, you can grow into a position and be part of the team. Hopefully I [will] play well this year, make a good impression and they would like me back for a couple more years," he added.

Essex have also added pace bowlers Zaman Akhter and Mitchell Killeen over the winter and director of cricket Chris Silverwood believes the squad have the talent and self-belief to push hard in both red and white-ball cricket. "You speak to the guys in the dressing room, they really feel they can compete and win every tournament so that's exactly what we'll try to do," he told BBC Look East.

Essex seam bowler Sam Cook played a Test match for England last summer and Silverwood echoed recent calls by Northamptonshire counterpart Darren Lehmann for closer links between the international and county set-ups. "You'd like to think that lads who are doing well on the county circuit are being spoken about within those ranks," the former fast bowler said.

"It's our role to produce England players for all formats. That's what county cricket is here for."