WORCESTERSHIRE paceman Matt Mason is targeting a return to action in the Friends Provident Trophy clash with Durham at the Riverside on June 1.

The Australian has been sidelined for the opening six weeks of the campaign after undergoing surgery during the winter on a shoulder problem.

But Mason has been given the all clear to resume bowling and is keen to make up for lost time after playing a key role in helping the county achieve a double promotion last season.

He said: "I am back bowling now and am 80% there. It is all going pretty well and I am hoping to be fit for the Durham game next week.

"A four-day game would be too much to start back in but a match where you have to bowl a maximum of ten overs would be ideal to begin with.

"If I can get through those overs alright, then I can look to go on from there. It's been a tough start to the season and I would have liked to have been playing my part.

"Kabir Ali has been immense, bowled a lot of overs and taken a lot of wickets, and it will be good to help him out before he falls to bits."

Mason admitted: "It has been frustrating in the sense that the surgeon found more wrong than we initially thought was wrong when I had the surgery but the shoulder is fine now.

"It was a case of once the shoulder was fixed, that was it and I am hoping to play for a few more years yet."