JACK BROOKS says the confidence of the Yorkshire six in South Africa is sky high as they prepare for a busy England Lions tour.

Brooks has got the nod to start today’s tour opener, a three-day match against an SA Invitational XI in Johannesburg.

He is joined on tour by Jonny Bairstow, Alex Lees, Adam Lyth, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid, with the main part of the five-week trip consisting of two four-day and five one-day matches against South Africa ‘A’.

Brooks, 30, was Yorkshire’s leading Championship wicket-taker in 2014 with a personal career-high haul of 68.

It is his second Lions tour, and his first since early 2012 when he travelled to Bangladesh as a North - amptonshire player.

“I think I’m a completely different person and player from the last tour,” he admitted.

“Playing for Northants, a so-called smaller club, I hadn’t really made myself known that much on the circuit to the other players, whereas now I come in as an experienced bowler with a couple of good seasons and a medal behind me.

“I have come into the group with a lot more confidence, as somebody who can make a bigger difference to the team now. It’s a completely different mindset to last time.

“I already know half the players anyway because I play with them day in and day out at Yorkshire.

“I have taken a lot of confidence from the last two years at Yorkshire, particularly last season with the number of wickets I took, my performances and the way the team performed in winning a trophy.

“It’s not just me, though, a lot of the Yorkshire lads’ confidence has gone through the roof. We’ve just got to back our skills and turn what we’ve been doing for Yorkshire into Lions performances.”

Sam Robson and Lyth will open the batting today, with Lees dropping down the order to number three.

Jonathan Trott will captain a side which includes a strong pace attack of Plunkett, Boyd Rankin, Brooks and Mark Wood. Rashid completes the bowling line-up as a leg-spinning all-rounder.

Bairstow will keep wicket as one of five players in the side who have can boast Test experience.

By the time this winter is done, Brooks will have enjoyed a memorable few months.

There have been White Rose title celebrations, seeing his name in England’s provisional 30 for the World Cup - “I wasn’t ever expecting that,” he said - and training with Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu while in South Africa before Christmas with the England Performance Programme squad.

“We were at the High Performance Centre in Potchefstroom, which is a perfect place for athletes to go and train in decent weather conditions,” he explained.

“Christine was there on her own with no coach, which she said was quite strange and a challenge.

“She was staying in the same accommodation, and she ended up hanging out with us for a few meals and came to the cinema once.

“She came to watch us train a few times and took us for some running drills on the track, which was good to see how another athlete goes about their business.

She was pretty intense, and it was good fun.”

So will we see Brooks haring round the third-man boundary more regularly next summer as a result?

“No, but put some hurdles out and I’ll be jumping them like Colin Jackson!” he added.

“If I put on an extra one or two per cent speed, then you’ll know where it’s come from.”