TUESDAY POLL: Personal milestone is far less important for Brooks

The pace bowler needs four more wickets to beat Steve Kirby’s record for the most by a Yorkshire bowler since the County Championship was split into two divisions at the turn of the millennium.

Brooks goes into the game against Somerset at Headingley with 64 wickets from 15 matches at 27.98.

Kirby took 67 from 14 games at 26.40 in 2003, the highest by a Yorkshire bowler since Peter Hartley bagged 71 from 15 matches at 21.91 in 1995.

“It would be great to beat Steve’s total,” said Brooks, whose tally includes six hauls of four wickets or more, with a best of 5-36 against his former club Northamptonshire. “We’ve already won the Championship, so little personal milestones are definitely something to try to aim for.

“I’d like to get up to the 70-wicket mark if I can – not least because it’s the next line of bonus for me as well.

“But, in all seriousness, I’m just so happy that we’ve won the title, and to have had such a good season personally with it is difficult to put into words in all honesty.”

Brooks, 30, has already equalled Yorkshire’s second-best wicket-taking return since the Championship changed to two divisions in 2000.

Deon Kruis, the South African pace bowler, also captured 64 wickets in 2005 to help fire Yorkshire to promotion.

Brooks is the second-highest wicket-taker in this year’s First Division, three behind the Sussex pace bowler Steve Magoffin.

He is joint-second with Magoffin on 67 wickets in all first-class matches – 10 behind the Derbyshire pace bowler Mark Footitt.

“It would be nice to finish leading wicket-taker in Division One, but I’m not too bothered about that,” said Brooks.

“Magoffin is just a machine; he keeps churning out seven wickets every match – it’s ridiculous.

“It’s nice to be up near the top of the list, but I’ll take the Championship over individual stuff any day of the week. We’ve finally got that monkey off our back by winning the title, and hopefully we can go on to win more trophies.”

Brooks is not the only Yorkshire player with an eye on a major personal milestone this week.

Adam Lyth leads the race to finish the country’s leading run-scorer, having hit 1,428 Championship runs at 71.40 – 77 more than Sussex’s Ed Joyce, his nearest challenger.

Lyth also tops the overall first-class list with 1,558 at 74.19, 104 ahead of second-placed Joyce.

Brooks believes his team-mate has been different class this year.

“Lythy’s had a marvellous season,” said Brooks. “He’s been faultless nearly, and there’s been so many games where he’s come to the party – big games as well, especially in the last part of the season.

“He’s had two massive double hundreds, he almost broke Darren Lehmann’s record for a Roses score, and it just shows how far he has come as a guy and as a cricketer. He’s a very talented player, and we’ve had such good stability with him and Leesy (Alex Lees) at the top of the order, setting up games in brilliant style.”

Lyth, who turns 27 on Thursday, also has an outside chance of beating David Byas’s record for the most catches by a Yorkshire outfielder since the switch to two divisions.

Byas held 38 catches in the Championship-winning campaign of 2001, with Lyth’s total standing at 32.

“Lythy’s got the smallest hands in the world,” said Brooks. “It’s amazing. Slip catching is an art form really, and Lythy’s taken some blinders this year. It helps so much when you’ve got guys like that fielding to your bowling.”

Brooks, who will be watched at Headingley by his parents and brother, has played a massive part in the title triumph.

It is testimony to his hunger and humility that he still feels there is more to come from him going forward.

“I think I’m still improving as a bowler and I don’t think I’ve hit my peak yet,” he said.

“Last year, when we came second in the Championship to Durham, we all looked at how we had to be better to win the league this time, and we all improved little percentages here and there.

“That’s what we’ll be trying to do again, and I’ll be trying to improve my consistency in going for less boundaries, for example.

“I just need to make sure I’m fit and strong again going into next year and take it from there.”