Nobody has spent longer on county cricket fields during the first month of the season than Yorkshire left-hander Joe Sayers, who is rapidly making a name for himself as a batsman with remarkable powers of concentration, who can build some really big innings.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Geoff Boycott has given encouragement and advice to Sayers in his bid to become one of the most solid openers in first-class cricket.

The Tykes have already had many individual success stories this season but nobody has stepped further to the fore than the Otley-born Oxford Blue, who has emerged as the team's leading scorer after the first four Championship matches.

In seven innings so far, Sayers has scored 388 runs and that puts him ahead of Pakistan Test star Younus Khan and South African Jaques Rudolph, both of whom have batted extremely well themselves.

Yet it has been Sayers' ability to spend hours at the crease, wearing bowlers down, that has done as much as anything to bring Yorkshire three hefty wins in a dream start to their Championship programme.

In the first home match against Durham at Headingley Carnegie, 23-year-old Sayers carried his bat for the second consecutive season while making a monumental 149 not out off 417 balls in an innings spanning nine hours and 13 minutes.

He was unbeaten on ten in the second innings as Yorkshire romped home by nine wickets, meaning that he was on the field for the whole of the match, and he didn't get much chance to put his feet up for long, either, in last week's massive victory by an innings and 260 runs over Worcestershire at Headingley.

This time he remained glued to the crease for six hours and 25 minutes while knocking up 123, although he was really flying on this occasion because his century came up in five hours and 28 minutes, making it the fastest of his four Championship tons for Yorkshire.

Some cricketers suddenly hit good form without being able to explain the reason but in the case of Sayers, who gained a BA Physics degree at Worcester College, Oxford, a good deal of thought and analysis had been put into his game over the winter months.

The first thing he did, however, at the end of last season, was to take a complete break from the game and he spent October teaching sixth form physics and sports science at St Aidan's Comprehensive School in Harrogate.

Then he began to think about playing cricket abroad and he considered an opportunity in India until the chance came to spend five weeks at the NBC International Cricket Academy in Cape Town, which is run by former Essex, Leicestershire and Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman Neil Burns.

"I did a lot of technical work coupled with an alternative style of training and I looked at the mental side of the game and the many different aspects of being a sportsman," said Sayers.

"I found it all very beneficial and I am keen to make another visit should the opportunity arise."

While in Cape Town, Sayers seized the chance to meet up with Geoff Boycott and seek his advice and that also proved very useful.

He must have made a good impression because when he arrived home there was a letter awaiting him from Boycott wishing him all the best in the coming season.

Sayers was conscious of the fact that he needed to add consistency to his game this summer in order to nail down his place as an opener and he has certainly done that.

"I now understand better what my role is in Championship cricket," he said. "It is important that I bat for three or four sessions and, whenever possible, at least until the second new ball is taken. This assists the other batsmen, helps to wear down the attack and sets us up to make some big scores, particularly in the first innings."

No matter how much thought a player puts into his preparation, luck still plays an important part - and Sayers was dropped on three against Durham when he went on to make an unbeaten 149 and on four against Worcestershire on his way to 123.

But few batsmen reach a century without giving at least one chance - and Yorkshire's opponents are learning fast that they don't let Sayers off the hook and get away with it.