DAVID Willey has revealed that his move to Yorkshire could have happened a lot earlier than last August, but he instead wanted to develop his game at Northamptonshire.

The England limited overs all-rounder joined the White Rose ahead of this season in a bid to boost his Test cricket chances.

Willey spoke to Jack Brooks and took further advice from his father Peter, and he has described the move North as a “no-brainer”.

The 26-year-old sat out Yorkshire’s opening round Specsavers County Championship draw against Hampshire earlier this week, and he may have to bide his time to break into the champions’ team.

“We didn’t know what was happening with fitness with some of the guys, but the plan was always to give me a bit of a break so I’m not mentally or physically exhausted come August or September,” he said.

“It is a very strong squad, but anyone who watches cricket knows there is a lot of cricket to play in the summer. There are going to be opportunities.

“Hopefully I will play all one-day cricket and rotate around with the other seamers so we are all fresh when we play the four-day stuff.

“That’s one of the reasons I’ve moved here.

“You play at smaller counties, you are wheeled out at times to play every game of the season, which is difficult as a bowler.

“Here, I’m going to have to push to get a game. But then also, there will be opportunities for me to rest. That hopefully means that when I do play my four-day cricket, I’m fresh and can bowl to my potential.

"Test cricket is the pinnacle. I've always wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps and play Test cricket.

“He thought it was a good move for me.

“It’s been on the cards for a few years, but I didn’t really think it was the right time for me to move.

“I wanted to have the most opportunities for me to improve as a cricketer and then weigh up my options further down the line.

“It’s certainly the right time now. I’m looking forward to getting the Yorkshire shirt on.”

Willey, in the squad to face Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Sunday, also revealed that he passed up the opportunity to put his name forward for the ongoing IPL to concentrate on county commitments.

“You never rule out any option, but moving to a new club, Test ambitions, I moved here to play Division One cricket,” he said.

“If you look at the fixture list, you go to the IPL and being in the England one-day set-up, you end up only being available for a handful of Championship games, which defeats the object of me moving here.

“Maybe down the line, it might be an option. But certainly this year, I wanted to come here, settle in, get to know the lads and not only contribute to the one-day stuff but the Championship stuff.”

* YORKSHIRE Diamonds have announced their full 15-player squad for this summer’s inaugural Women’s Super League T20 competition.

Diamonds squad: Lauren Winfield c, Hollie Armitage, Katherine Brunt, Steph Butler, Alice Davidson Richards, Teresa Graves, Jenny Gunn, Danielle Hazell, Shabnim Ismail, Katie Levick, Beth Mooney, Anna Nicholls, Laura Spragg, Katie Thompson.