IMPROVING on a 68-wicket season is a tough ask but Yorkshire seamer Jack Brooks was keen to challenge himself during the winter.

The 30-year-old was the county’s standout bowler in 2014 with a club record haul in the two-division era, earning him England Lions recognition after Christmas as a result. But he knew his game could be even better in 2015.

During Yorkshire’s recent opening round Championship win over Worcestershire, in which Brooks took nine wickets, coach Jason Gillespie revealed how he was aiming to start his spells with venom instead of taking an over or two to find top gear.

And in trying to achieve this, not only has Brooks worked hard with coaches, he has also followed Adam Lyth’s lead by talking to sports psychologists.

Ahead of last summer, Lyth sought the help of Yorkshire’s Simon Hartley after an inconsistent three years, and now he is with England in the Caribbean having scored 1,400 Championship runs.

And a similar approach seems to be working for Brooks, who has started this season superbly with 13 wickets in the Worcester win and the draw at Nottinghamshire, including his first scalp four balls into the summer.

“I knew something wasn’t quite right last season. I needed to find a trigger that helps me say ‘right I’m here, I need to be on this from ball one’,” he explained.

“It’s about hitting the ground running rather than easing yourself in.

“I’ve had private chats with coaches and some sports psychologists as well.

“Usually, I use a wicket as a trigger. Wickets, with the release of emotion I get, really get the adrenaline going. If I can get that from ball one, all the better.

“I think a lot of it is upstairs rather than physically. I’ve tweaked my pre-match routines in the morning. I’m just trying to focus myself a little bit better.”

Yorkshire’s third match of the season is against Warwickshire at Headingley, starting Sunday.