Gillespie expects Willey to make a big impression for Yorkshire

England all-rounder Willey has agreed to join the county champions on a three-year deal from Northamptonshire at the end of the summer, choosing Headingley as his future home ahead of a whole host of other suitors.

The 25-year-old has forged a reputation as one of the country’s most exciting talents in limited overs cricket.

He has played four one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match for England this year, a tally which will increase during the forthcoming series against Australia later this month.

Willey won man-of-the-match in Northants’ T20 final success over Surrey in 2013 with 60 off 27 balls opening the batting before claiming 4-9 with the ball, including a hat-trick.

Only last week, the left-hander smashed a 40-ball century in a quarter-final win over Sussex at Hove to take the Steelbacks back to Finals Day next weekend.

There is no doubt he will improve Yorkshire as a limited overs team, but what about in the Championship?

“I certainly believe so,” said coach Gillespie. “I think that left-arm variation will be great for us. With his aggressive batting in the middle order, I think he’s a quality four-day player.

“His exploits in the short form of the game have been well documented, but I certainly see real potential for a quality first-class player.

“I don’t envisage him playing every single game. I think it’s very tough for players who play all three forms of the game to play every single game.

“Dave, we will manage him as we manage all our other players and give them the best chance to be successful.

“He’s such an explosive cricketer, and we don’t want to flog him so to speak, burn him out. We want to make sure we look after him.

“To be able to secure his services is a massive coup for our club.”

In 58 first-class matches since 2009, Willey has taken 148 wickets with five five-wicket hauls and scored 2,052 runs with two hundreds.

The challenge he has now is to decrease his bowling average of 29.73 with the red ball and increase his batting average of 28.50.

“We’re very excited to secure the services of such a quality player,” added Gillespie.

“From a club point of view, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. I think our team is going to benefit a lot in all forms of the game.

“From David’s perspective, he wants to give himself the chance to continue to represent England. He feels that coming to Yorkshire can certainly help improve his game.

“He’s a very professional cricketer in terms of how he prepares and goes about his work.

“I know he’s very excited to be linking up with us. He’s a great lad, and I think he’ll fit in beautifully here at Headingley. All the players and support staff are delighted he’s agreed to join us.”

Yorkshire face Sussex in the Championship at Hove, starting tomorrow. They are 38 points clear of second-placed Middlesex with five matches to play and a game in hand.

Middlesex are in action against fourth-placed Durham, who are out of the race.