"THERE'S something special about being a part of Yorkshire."

A fourth spell as the county's overseas player is on the horizon, and it is fair to say Kane Williamson can't wait to return to Emerald Headingley this coming July.

The New Zealand captain has signed on to play in eleven NatWest T20 Blast matches, plus a potential quarter-final, and four Specsavers County Championship fixtures.

His first match comes in the Blast against Durham on July 13 before his quartet of Championship appearances includes the Roses clash at Emirates Old Trafford and Worcestershire at Scarborough for Festival week.

"I'm really looking forward to coming back," said the 27-year-old batsman.

"It's been a year or so before the opportunity came about to return, but it's somewhere where I enjoy playing cricket. They're a great bunch of lads and a great club to be a part of.

"I really enjoy being around the guys, the staff, the club in general. The supporters are brilliant too.

"Some of the Roses clashes and the Scarborough games are particularly nice to be a part of. I think we have one of each when I'm there.

"Also the cricket in England in those conditions means you learn so much about your own game. There's a number of factors that come into it for me."

Williamson has played for Yorkshire in short spells in 2013, 2014 and 2016, scoring 1,756 runs in 42 appearances across all formats with 12 fifties and one century.

He helped them win the Championship in 2014 but wasn't there to lift the trophy at the end, and he is hoping it is a similar story this time around.

Despite a busy international schedule, that has not stopped the Tauranga-born star from keeping in touch with the county's scores since he was last here.

"I followed them closely from afar, and the Championship looked a pretty tight race," he said. "They ended up fourth, although they weren't satisfied with how they went.

"As years go by, teams change slightly. That happens to all teams, and it's a challenge to try and maintain performance. But they still showed good signs last year.

"There were definite improvements in their white ball development.

"It's exciting times, and there's some exciting young talent coming through who are getting more and more opportunities.

"When Yorkshire play their best cricket, they are right up there with the best counties in the country."

He continued: "The Championship title will without doubt be the goal and the intention, so I'm sure the guys over there in pre-season are very much planning for that.

"But, as we saw last year, there's such a fine line between teams that went down to Division Two and us that were fourth. There were only a handful of points involved.

"In that sort of cricket, results are so important.

"If you do get wins and play in a style to get wins at the expense of losing the odd game, often that helps your cause instead of playing a more conservative brand of cricket. That is something Yorkshire have been very good at during my time there."

A bit has changed at Yorkshire in Williamson's time away, including a change of coach from Jason Gillespie to Andrew Gale.

"I played a bit with Galey under his captaincy, and it was something I enjoyed. I'm looking forward to seeing what he offers as a coach. I'm sure he will be great," he added.

*In association with Yorkshire Cricket