Winning silverware is the obvious goal that Ryan Sidebottom has going into the 2011 county cricket season with Yorkshire – but the club’s new signing is also aiming to usurp someone he knows very well.

The former England left-arm swing bowler is determined to better father Arnie Sidebottom’s career statistics.

Effectively, the 32-year-old has another three seasons to take 122 more first-class wickets and claim 87 more ‘List A’ victims.

Arnie took 596 first-class wickets and 264 ‘List A’ wickets, and Ryan currently has 475 and 178.

Ryan already has far better international stats as Arnie only played one Test match – against Australia – in 1985. Ryan played 22 Tests, 25 one-day internationals and 18 Twenty20 internationals.

He said: “I am desperate to finish off a good career. I really want to beat my dad’s career bowling stats if I can, and that’s something that drives me on. I still feel I can play for three or four more years if I stay fit.

“My dad’s always been there and thereabouts throughout my career with plenty of good advice, and he was desperate for me to come back here and prove a point. Here I am.”

Sidebottom junior has returned to Headingley after spending seven seasons with Nottinghamshire, where he helped to win the County Championship title in 2005 and 2010.

Those successes mean he has won the Championship title three times, having played a part in the White Rose success of 2001.

He is confident of making it four. He continued: “I think the guys maybe surprised themselves a bit with what they achieved last season, and there’s no reason why we can’t do better.

“Even if it’s not next year, what bodes well is that the squad is very young and learning quickly. We’re playing to win, and to bring a trophy back to Yorkshire would be an amazing feeling.”

Sidebottom described his decision to return to the club for whom he made his professional debut in 1997 as “the obvious choice”, choosing the White Rose over the Red Rose of Lancashire and a whole host of other suitors.

“I’ve said before that I’ve got a little bit of unfinished business here,” he added.

“I left the club wanting to play for my country, and I wasn’t able to do that with Yorkshire because of the amount of seam bowlers that we had around at that time.

“Now I’ve only just finished my international career, but I’m still a good bowler. We’ve got some very talented players here, and I feel like I can offer a lot too.”