JACK Brooks is ready and raring to go and confident of a winning start for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire this weekend.

“We’ve got a good recent record against Notts, and we tend to play some pretty good cricket at home. We know how to play to these conditions,” said the new ball seamer ahead of today’s clash at Emerald Headingley.

Yorkshire are unbeaten against Notts in the Specsavers County Championship since early 2011, a relegation year for the White Rose.

Since then, they have won four and drawn five against them.

Brooks arrived at Headingley ahead of 2012 and has taken 34 wickets from seven appearances against Notts, who started this summer on a high with victory over Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford, their first match back in Division One after a summer away.

“They’re a good side and were when they went down the year before last,” continued Brooks. “They just struggled for form.

“They’ve got some decent internationals and a good solid overseas batsman in Ross Taylor. I’d imagine they are still on a high after the summer they had last year, winning a couple of trophies.

“They did well against Lancs and will be a tough test.

“Mind you, every team in Division One will be. The strength of it is ridiculous. You can’t predict who will finish where, and you just need to get on a bit of a roll.”

Yorkshire’s chance to get on that roll at the earliest opportunity was scuppered with last weekend’s four-day washout at Headingley, leaving Brooks to say: “You train all winter, and there’s always a buzz and excitement around the first game. It was just a let down.”

His frustration will have been felt particularly keenly given last summer was a disappointing one - team wise and personally.

The 33-year-old took 23 wickets in eight matches due to injury and the loss of his place in the side.

“I had three years in a row where I took 60 wickets, and the first year I was here in 2012 I took 30-odd and had a broken thumb for six weeks,” he went on. “Last year, I missed almost half the season and didn’t really get going until the end.

“It was a big learning curve for me. It was the most disappointing summer I’ve had in my whole career. I’ve been lucky enough not to have had that up until now.

“It did test me and made me think how good a career I’d had without being tested in that way. When I was away from cricket, I questioned whether I was still good enough. But when I was fit, I knew I would be fine.

“I was still turning up with the hunger to train and prove a point, so I knew I had plenty left in me to achieve something.”

Despite admitting to feeling a bit undercooked in terms of outdoor work during the early stages of this summer, Brooks is confident he will hit the ground running this weekend.

He added: “I feel really good in terms of rhythm. I felt good in South Africa and down at Leicester for the 12 overs I had there. I just want to get that into Championship mode now.”

Ben Coad is set to return to the side having come through the first two days of a second-team clash with Lancashire on Tuesday and Wednesday following a hip flexor injury.

Steve Patterson is back bowling despite a double fracture in the third finger on his right hand last week, but he is not fully fit.

Yorkshire squad: Ballance (capt), Bresnan, Brook, Brooks, Coad, Hodd w, Leaning, Lees, Lyth, Pujara, Shaw, Waite.