DAVID Willey admits he is loving life in the thick of the action for Yorkshire.

The all-rounder has played the last three County Championship matches and contributed heavily to three victories, with runs, wickets and his fielding.

Having signed for the White Rose ahead of 2016 from most recent opponents Northamptonshire, this is the first time that Willey has played three four-day games on the trot.

That has been down to a combination of England commitments and injury. But things are more settled now, much to the 31-year-old’s delight.

“I’ve played three games on the bounce, so I might be asking for a rest (for this week’s match) against Kent!” he smiled.

“For as long as I’ve been at Yorkshire, the amount of cricket I’ve played has been pretty limited really.

“I thought I’d have a clear run at domestic cricket last year before Covid struck and one thing and another.

“But this year has been black and white for me. It’s been county cricket and building up to that from the start of the winter. I’m loving every minute of it.

“From a period of time where I wasn’t enjoying my cricket to where I am now, it’s just great to be out there contributing and, more importantly, enjoying it.”

Yorkshire’s Vitality Blast captain has previously spoken at length about falling out of love with the game following his brutal last-minute omission from England’s one-day World Cup squad at the start of 2019.

So it has been great to see that vibrancy in his play in recent games against Kent and Sussex away and Northants at home, with the latter ending in a stunning one-run success on Sunday afternoon.

In the three games, he has taken 12 wickets and scored 131 runs at an average of 65.5 down the order.

Against Northants, he also showed his fielding prowess, affecting the direct hit run out of Ricardo Vasconcelos early in the second innings - a crucial moment.

Though Willey’s comment about needing a rest for Thursday’s clash with Kent at Headingley came in jest, there is a serious side to his point.

Having spent much of the winter in rehabilitation mode following a stress fracture of his back, it is unrealistic to expect Willey to feature game after game after game.

The White Rose have some injured bowling options ready to return shortly in Ben Coad, Matthew Fisher, Dom Leech and Matthew Waite.

And with the start of the Blast in early June coming more into focus, it may well be that we don’t see him quite as much in the Championship over the coming weeks.

He agreed: “Yes, that might be something we consider as we get closer to the T20s.

“We’ve got a good group of bowlers, who are fit to play now.

“As I’ve said before, I spoke to the management in my appraisal, and we talked about managing my workloads. Part of that might be that I miss some games even if I’m feeling good. I’m fine with that.

“When I’m out there, I want to be able to contribute as much as I can.

“So I’d rather miss a few here and there than keep me going, keep me going and then miss a longer period through injury.”

Willey is not the only one in line for a rest, as Duanne Olivier has played four games on the trot.

With Coad available for Kent and Mat Pillans also waiting in the wings, changes could be afoot.