Jack Brooks would be playing against Somerset at Headingley today even if Liam Plunkett was not with England.

That is not to say Plunkett would have been the seamer left out to accommodate the Northamptonshire man’s inclusion, but such is Brooks’s record on his home ground, his selection is a no brainer for Jason Gillespie and Andrew Gale.

Brooks has missed the last two LV= County Championship matches and last Thursday’s Royal London one-day Cup quarter-final win over Essex.

He suffered a back injury ahead of the first of those Championship matches against Durham at Scarborough before being left out against Sussex at Hove and then again at Chelmsford.

The 31-year-old England Lions man, who Gillespie believes could still play a part at Test level, is back in today as he bids to enhance a fabulous first-class record at Headingley.

In 19 matches there, all for Yorkshire, he has taken 85 wickets at an average of 19.24.

“Headingley is one of those wickets which has good bounce and carry,” said coach Gillespie. “There’s a little bit of nibble off the seam, and Brooksy’s record is unbelievable.

“That certainly is a factor. We also want to manage our bowlers.

“Somewhere like Headingley suits Steve Patterson a lot better than down south as well. Those sort of things, I do take into account. I have looked at statistics north v south.”

Asked why he believes Brooks is so effective at Headingley, Gillespie said: “It’s the length he bowls. He generally bowls a little bit fuller than most bowlers. You hear a lot about bail high, but his plan is to hit the batsman’s knee roll.

“Brooksy’s real strength, I believe, is when you see how many lbws, bowleds and nicks behind off the front foot he gets.

“He challenges a batsman’s defence. He gets them thinking they can drive him. Sometimes they do drive him, which is fine. I say to him ‘I’d rather you get driven than cut’.

“I never have an issue with him being driven because I know he can pull out a Brooks special and go bang, bang, bang and change a game.”

Brooks, who took 68 Championship wickets in 16 matches last year, has 48 wickets in 2015 and could still better that haul despite having missed the two aforementioned matches.

“It’s quite amazing because I don’t think he’s quite hit his straps as he did last year, yet his economy rate’s down and his strike rate is better this year. It’s been a funny old year for Jack. But he does bowl wicket-taking balls,” added Gillespie.

“His economy rate is down to about 3.2 now. His goal last winter was to bring it down from about 3.6 to under 3.5 without compromising his wicket-taking ability.

“I certainly think Jack could do a job at Test level. It would depend on conditions, I would have thought. If you have a pitch like they had at Trent Bridge or a Headingley pitch, absolutely.

“I think Jack could fill an important role because he does have that pace.

“In Test cricket, I believe, you do have to have that minimum pace unless you’re 6ft 7inches. Jack bowls mid eighties when he’s going well.”

Jack Leaning has been left out of Yorkshire’s 12-man squad as Aaron Finch returns.

Yorkshire squad: Gale c, Bairstow w, Ballance, Bresnan, Brooks, Finch, Fisher, Lees, Lyth, Middlebrook, Patterson, Sidebottom.