ADIL Rashid believes the birth of his first child helped him enjoy an exceptional second half of the 2014 summer as Yorkshire secured LV= County Championship glory.

The Bradfordian leg-spinning all-rounder, 26, fired himself back into England contention with 85 wickets and 828 runs from 35 matches across all competitions last summer.

He missed two Championship matches against Sussex and Warwickshire in June whilst on paternity leave as his wife gave birth to their son, Muhammad Zain.

But he returned to Yorkshire colours and took 68 wickets in 23 matches in all competitions, whilst also scoring a crucial Roses Championship century against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford in early September.

Rashid told the soon to be released Yorkshire - A Champion Year book: “I think that helped me because I wasn’t involved in cricket for a while, but once I came back I was hungry to play and perform.

“It got me on a big high. What I’ve learned to do is concentrate fully on cricket. Then, once I get home, cricket’s done.

“It’s made me mature quickly (having a child). I’ve got more responsibility now. I appreciate the value of life better.

“A lot of people can get stuck into cricket, cricket, cricket, eat and sleep it. There is more to life than that. It was getting to that stage for me. Before all this came along, it was cricket, cricket, cricket for me.

“Once I had a bad day back then, I always took it home with me and started thinking about it until I had a good day. Now, it’s different.

“If I have a good day, it’s back to home as per normal. If I have a bad day, it’s back to home as per normal.”

Asked whether the birth of his son was the best moment of his life, he added: “Definitely. Seeing your own son and holding him knowing that he’s your own, it’s a great feeling seeing him grow up, start smiling and talking. That helps.

“That gets your stresses or tensions out of you if you’ve had a bad day. It wipes it away immediately when he smiles.”

While a number of Rashid’s Yorkshire team-mates returned to pre-season training at Headingley earlier this week, he is preparing for an England Performance Programme tour of Sri Lanka later this month.

* Yorkshire - A Champion Year retails at £30 and is co-authored by T&A writer Graham Hardcastle. It can be bought from www.yorkshireccc.com. The book is published by Well Done Media.