MARTYN Moxon has revealed that rest and recuperation was Yorkshire’s motive for leaving overseas duo Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell out of their ongoing LV= County Championship match against Nottinghamshire at Headingley.

The Australian pair are missing from the county’s seventh four-day match of the season, which saw weather restrict play during day one to only 47.3 overs as the visitors moved to 169-8.

Yorkshire have taken a cautious view with Finch’s return from seven weeks out with a torn hamstring despite three T20 Blast appearances in nine days.

They sent him to play in a Second XI Championship match against Worcestershire at Barnt Green, although that plan was disrupted when he bottom-edged a short ball from seamer Chris Russell into his rib cage, forcing him to retire hurt on 19 and have an X-ray at Redditch Hospital.

Yorkshire are expected to find out the extent of the damage tomorrow, but Finch will not play any further part in the game and has returned to Leeds in the hope he can recover in time for Friday’s T20 Blast clash at Leicestershire.

And instead of using Maxwell as his overseas replacement for a third Championship fixture running, they have afforded the batting all-rounder a couple of days holiday on the South Coast after a hectic start to the year with Australia and at the IPL.

"Maxi's not had a day off. He's cricket mad. He's played second-team cricket, first-team cricket, so we thought it was better for him to go and have a few days off,” explained Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket.

“He agreed, and he's gone down to the South Coast to have a few days off.

"He's working hard at his game. He’s probably trying too hard in many ways. So that's why we've said 'go and have a bit of time off and come back fresh for Friday’.

"It's got to have an effect, this constant cricket. He's not really had a break for some time now. Something's got to give.

"Finchy hasn't played a lot of cricket since he came back from his injury, so Dizzy spoke to him about it.

“We thought it would be better spending time in the seconds and building it up again, but he went to pull a ball and got a bottom-edge into his ribs.”

Ryan Sidebottom, Steve Patterson, Jack Brooks and Tim Bresnan all took two wickets apiece after the hosts elected to make use of a “slightly damp” pitch, according to Moxon.

Four wickets fell to lbw appeals, with Sidebottom’s 2-41 from 13 overs the pick of the bowling on his return from a torn calf against his old county.

The 37-year-old has not played any first-team cricket since the opening round win against Worcestershire in mid-April, but he was quickly into rhythm and had opener Steven Mullaney caught behind before lunch and got top-scorer Riki Wessels lbw after lunch.

Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow will return to Yorkshire colours for the second half of this match from Wednesday after playing in England’s T20 international against New Zealand in Manchester tomorrow. He will replace Andrew Hodd.