YORKSHIRE seamer Jack Brooks says a week away from Twenty20 action is crucial to maintaining his excellent form in the LV= County Championship for the remainder of the season.

Ahead of the current round of Championship fixtures, which Yorkshire are not involved in, the 30-year-old new ball bowler’s haul of 42 wickets from ten matches was more than anybody else in Division One.

But, during their last two matches against Sussex at Arundel and Warwickshire at Edgbaston, he has looked tired.

That has forced Yorkshire’s hierarchy and Brooks to accept that a rest is needed, and he will not play any NatWest T20 Blast matches this week, including tonight’s game with Leicestershire at Headingley.

Brooks missed the North Division washout against Lancashire on Friday and the defeat against Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

He will also sit out tomorrow’s home match with Durham and Friday’s trip to Worcestershire.

“A week off will be vital just to build up some strength and energy again as well as freshening up mentally,” said the ex- Northamptonshire man.

“I’m not going to miss any four-day cricket, but hopefully I’ll be refreshed after a few days of just doing nothing.

“Sussex down at Arundel on that flat wicket, I could feel myself flagging a bit. Luckily the game at Edgbaston only lasted three days, but I was feeling pretty tired there too.

I think Andrew Gale spotted it as well.

“He asked me out on the pitch, and I agreed that I was a bit leggy. I sat down with Jason Gillespie and the support staff on the way back from Edgbaston, and we thought it would be a good idea to rest me for the next few games. I didn’t have a problem with that.

“They then set out a plan for the next few days and asked my thoughts. I said ‘look, I wouldn’t mind a week off to be honest’.

“We have the bowlers to cover it, and I want to play all the games possible. I wasn’t refusing to play or anything like that. But, if I’m going to carry on at full throttle, I need to give myself the best possible chance.”

Brooks has taken two five-wicket hauls this season to lead Yorkshire’s attack, and he and opening batsman Adam Lyth are the only two players in the squad to have played all ten Championship games.

“I was confident of having this sort of start to the season,” he said. “I was in this type of form before my hand injury last year, and in previous seasons at Northants I’ve always started well before breaking down with maybe a workload injury or what have you.

“I’m feeling really strong and fit at the moment, and I’m not struggling with anything. I just feel a bit tired.

“The lads are flying, and you love being part of a winning team. But to have a decent contribution as well, it’s fantastic.

I couldn’t really ask for much more at the minute.”

Yorkshire go in search of a fourth win from their eighth T20 match against Leicester tonight.

Success would see the Vikings move into fourth place in the North Division with six to play.