High ambitions of Jaques matched by his desire to stick with Yorkshire

The 32-year-old Australian, who has signed a two-year deal at Headingley Carnegie, said he would consider staying beyond his existing contract.

Jaques made his remarks on a day that saw his return to Yorkshire colours ruined by the weather as rain prevented a start in the County Championship match against Essex at Headingley.

Yorkshire’s frustration was compounded by the news that Mitchell Starc, the Australian pace bowler they are pursuing as an overseas player, could be needed to stay on during the ongoing tour of the West Indies to cover for injuries.

Starc, whom the club have yet to officially confirm they are chasing, may be wanted for the third Test in Dominica, starting on Monday, after not featuring in the first two Tests.

It is not known when the 22-year-old left-armer would be available to link up with Yorkshire, who would still need a No Objection Certificate from Cricket Australia, which could potentially take some time to process.

There are no such problems with Jaques, however, whose registration was officially finalised on Wednesday after he relinquished the right to play in Australia.

Asked yesterday whether he would countenance staying at Yorkshire for the rest of his career, he replied: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve signed for two years and we’ll see where it ends up after that in terms of contracts and things.

“But I love playing here, I love the place, and I’m really excited to be back at Yorkshire.”

A classy left-hander, Jaques was a big hit when he played for the club in 2004-05.

He scored 2,477 first-class runs at 61.92 before going on to play 11 Tests and six one-day internationals.

After helping Yorkshire to Championship promotion in 2005, Jaques has returned to a club where expectations are high for a repeat performance.

It is something he believes is well within the county’s compass.

“I definitely think promotion is a realistic objective,” said Jaques, who has also played county cricket for Northamptonshire and Worcestershire.

“You’ve only got to look at the squad we have to see that’s the case.

“While it is a young squad, there’s a good mix now and I’m sure that as the season wears on we’ll be right up there.

“We want to get back up to where we belong.”

As befits someone who has played at the highest level, Jaques is unfazed by high expectations.

He believes Yorkshire will embrace them in an effort to satisfy their loyal fan base.

“There’s always expectation with a club like Yorkshire,” he added.

“It’s a big club and the supporters love the side to do well.

“They support the side very strongly and keenly here, which is great from a players’ perspective.

“If we’re not doing what we should be doing we get told that, but if we’re doing a good job we get told that also.”

Although Jaques’s quality is beyond doubt, he is a level-headed person who knows he must fight for his place like anyone else.

Yorkshire have eight frontline batsmen fighting for six places at present, and Jaques is taking nothing for granted.

“There’s a lot of competition for places and a lot of good young players at the club,” he said.

“It’s always good to have that competition and it lifts everyone’s game – my own included.

“From my own point of view, I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer the game.

“I’m only 32 and I’ve got a lot of good years left in me yet.”

Jaques, who wants to get into coaching when he retires from playing, missed the opening Championship game against Kent as he was getting married.

He was always keen to return to Yorkshire once it became clear that South African batsman Jacques Rudolph would not be coming back, while he was also enticed by the prospect of working with new first-team coach Jason Gillespie, his former Australia team-mate.

“It became clear that Rudolph wasn’t coming back and I sent a few feelers out to guys I knew at the club,” said Jaques, whose father hails from Sheffield and whose mother comes from Manchester.

“I actually wanted to stay here last time but the club wanted a bowler at the time and Dizzy was the one that took my spot, which is quite ironic really.

“Dizzy was a big influence on my decision to come back here; he’s a fantastic fellow and, from what I’ve seen so far, he’s a very good coach who runs a very good ship.

“I got on great with Dizzy when I played with him in the Australian side; he brings a calmness to the squad and you know with him that what you see is what you get.”