JASON Gillespie says enjoyment has been key to Yorkshire’s LV= County Championship title success.

Yorkshire have clinched their first four-day title since 2001 with a game to spare, which comes against Somerset at Headingley on Tuesday. It is also Gillespie’s first piece of silverware as a coach.

The Australian has been in charge of first-team affairs at Headingley for three seasons after a spell of coaching the MidWest Rhinos team in Zimbabwe ahead of the 2012 campaign.

Although he has passed on most of the credit to his players during the last week, the 39-year-old former fast bowler has played a major part in this triumph through his relaxed style of coaching.

His mantra is very much ‘play hard on the field, play hard off it’.

“We look to have fun,” said Gillespie. “At the end of the day, it’s a sport to be enjoyed.

“I’m in the sport because I love it. The players are in the sport because they love it, first and foremost. For me, that’s key.

“To see these lads to do what they’re doing and celebrate the way they are, it makes me so happy.

“You’re in each other’s pockets a lot in cricket. A four-day game lasts for a whole day, 24 hours. You spend a lot of time together, eight or nine hours a day. You need to keep it interesting, keep it fun.

“I could list 1,000 things for you that we do, from keeping it light in the dressing room - find times to have a joke around - to changing it up in preparation.

“Sometimes it’s just as simple as giving lads a day off. That can be crucial.

“When it’s time work, it’s time to work. When it’s time to relax and enjoy yourselves, I allow them to do that.”

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s talented opener Alex Lees has been awarded the LV= Breakthrough player of the year award for 2014.

Lees, 21, has scored 865 runs from 14 Championship matches and has been part of county cricket’s most prolific opening partnership this season with fellow left hander Adam Lyth.