JAKE LEHMANN hasn’t had a great deal of time on his hands this week after a whirlwind journey from Queensland to Manchester, but he has at least managed to speak to his dad about his forthcoming overseas spell at Yorkshire.

“He has just told me to come over here, enjoy the experience and win a couple of games,” said the 24-year-old ahead of his debut against Lancashire today.

Lehmann is available for Yorkshire’s final six Specsavers County Championship matches, starting at Emirates Old Trafford, where he met his new team-mates at training yesterday.

He was playing for Australia A in Townsville on Tuesday and landed in Manchester on Thursday night, with a brief trip home sandwiched in between.

“I spent four hours in Adelaide to just pick up my passport,” he continued. “But I’m happy to be here.

“We were playing against South Africa A when Mark Waugh (an Australia selector) pulled me out of the rooms and asked ‘would you like to go and play the rest of the county season in Yorkshire’.

“It’s something I’m really looking forward to.

“I’ve heard a lot about this fixture. There’s six games to go, and hopefully I can contribute to a couple of wins and tick some boxes.

“A lot of Australians aspire to be good in England, and it’s a good thing for me to experience as a young cricketer.

“Any time you get to experience different conditions and get put into the deep end a bit, you’re going to come out a better player.

“The vibe in the group seems pretty good, which is what happens when you’re winning games. Hopefully I can help that continue. It could be a fun period to join.”

Lehmann, a left-hander with little first-class experience but a burgeoning reputation following three hundreds in eleven matches so far, is no stranger to Headingley following Darren’s spell with the White Rose.

“I’ve been to Leeds a couple times before when I was real young,” he said. “One was when I was seven or eight and the other eleven or 12.

“It was to watch games on school holidays.”

Jake is well aware of his father’s capabilities as a cricketer, and he is confident of handling the pressure that comes with the expectations and comparisons.

“I’m a little but older than my other brother and my two sisters, and I got to see and understand how good of a player dad was,” he added.

“I guess that’s something I will always get to hold over them because they don’t quite realise how good of a player he was. I feel very fortunate to know that.

“I’ve had to deal with the expectations at South Australia.

“He’s not only a legend here, he is back home too. But I’ll just take everything in my stride and do what I can do. Hopefully everyone gets around me and I can perform for them.”

Yorkshire are moving through the gears in their bid to win a hat-trick of Division One titles. They sit third in the table, 14 points behind leaders Middlesex with six to play and a game in hand.

Lancashire, top of the table following three wins from their first five, have slipped off the pace following no wins in six.

Yorkshire are aiming for a third successive Roses Championship win.