Bresnan boost for White Rose

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Tim Bresnan has been made available for Friends Life t20 finals day tomorrow after England’s first one-day international was washed out after just 5.3 overs.

The umpires tried four times to get play under way in the opening NatWest Series encounter against South Africa before the action eventually commenced at 3pm.

There was a further brief stoppage following the first delivery, after which Ian Bell lit up a gloomy SWALEC Stadium, albeit briefly; he struck two sixes en route to 26 as England reached 37 without loss.

The upshot for the White Rose, however, is that Bresnan can be selected provided the reserve day is not needed, though further rain is forecast in Cardiff.

England have made Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan available for finals day of the Friends Life t20 tomorrow

Should the action roll into Sunday, team director Andy Flower will make a further decision on Bresnan’s availability.

Yorkshire will face Sussex in the opening semi-final, while Somerset will tackle Hampshire in the other.

In the latter encounter, Somerset will attempt to reach the final for the fourth successive year – though they are hoping to go one better.

Marcus Trescothick’s men have been beaten in the last three showpieces, losing to Sussex, Hampshire and Leicestershire respectively.

Craig Kieswetter said: “Hopefully we can get over that final hurdle.

“It has gotten past the stage of being a bridesmaids’ situation tomorrow; it’s an issue that is not so much an elephant in the room.

“It is just another finals day. We have got to win a semi-final first and Hampshire are a strong side with some dangerous players.

“For us, it is just about trying to win that game and, if we do, we have another hurdle to get over.”

Kieswetter is hoping to draw inspiration from Bell’s impressive – though brief – effort.

“If I could do that (bat like Bell) tomorrow, it should be quite fun,” he added. “The way he played was pretty outstanding.”

Unlike Bresnan, Kieswetter and Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow will still definitely be able to feature should the reserve day be needed.

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