JACK Brooks says close mate and new signing David Willey will relish the challenge of trying to break into Yorkshire’s much-feared County Championship bowling attack next season.

Willey will join the White Rose county from Northamptonshire for 2016 in a bid to further his England Test match ambitions.

The all-rounder has so far only made his name with the white ball as a dynamic left-arm swing bowler and a hard-hitting right-handed opening batsman.

He has earned six one-day and two Twenty20 international caps for England this summer, but has yet to really stamp his authority on first-class cricket.

Brooks and the 25-year-old are good mates from their time together at Northants, so Yorkshire’s leading wicket-taker is ideally placed when it comes to assessing Willey’s chances of success with the red ball next year.

Brooks, who finished this year with 65 Championship victims, said: “He’s the sort of character that will be told ‘it’s going to be hard for you to break in and you may only play a certain amount of games’.

“But he might end up playing a lot more because I know what his determination and attitude is like.

“He’s obviously a very skilful cricketer, and you never know who will play due to injuries and international call-ups.

“He’s a very good cricketer, and he will perform when he comes in. I’ve got absolutely no doubts about that.”

Willey has taken 148 wickets in 58 first-class matches since debuting in 2009, including five five-wicket hauls. He has also scored two hundreds and 14 fifties in a runs tally of 2,052.

He has only played five Championship matches this year due to injury and international calls, taking 14 wickets and scoring 407 runs.

Willey will tour the UAE with the England Lions in December for a five-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan A.

Brooks’s haul of 65 wickets from 14 Championship matches was 20 more than Steve Patterson and Tim Bresnan, who played 15 and 16 matches respectively.