Bresnan reaps the rewards

Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan has capped a fine season with a place in the England Performance Programme squad to tour India this winter.

The 23-year-old has also been included in the Hong Kong Sixes squad for the tournament which takes place on the weekend of November 8 and 9.

Bresnan has already had a taste of international action for England, having played five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international.

He was also called up to the NatWest Series squad this year, when Ryan Sidebottom was ruled out through injury, after a successful start to the season in county cricket.

“I’ve had quite a good year,” Bresnan told ecb.co.uk. “I missed a few games in the championship because I got called into the one-day squad, which is quite good for me personally.

Tim Bresnan has played five one-day internationals so far

“But we have got the back-up to be able to cope. As soon as I went Deon Kruis got fit again so he just came in for a straight swap.

“The lads that have come in have done really well. Steve Patterson played a game in which I came back and replaced him and he did really well that day.

“Personally, this year I managed to get 80-odd wickets and close to 800 runs, so that is quite good. I just have to build on that next year.”

Yorkshire themselves had a mixed season after being promoted in the NatWest Pro40, getting to the knock-out stages of both the Friends Provident Trophy and the Twenty20 Cup, and just avoiding relegation in the championship,

But Bresnan is not getting too downhearted.

“We’ve done all right,” he said. “We have played some good cricket in patches but we have also had games where we have had a bad hour here and there and that has cost us games. Or we have turned wins into draws.

“We’ve played well in one-day cricket and managed to get promotion in the Pro40 and to the semi-finals of the Friends Provident and then the quarter-final debacle in the Twenty20.

“But all round, I would say we have had a really good year.”

Yorkshire were thrown out of the Twenty20 Cup at the quarter-final stage after failing to register Azeem Rafiq properly, and then playing him against Nottinghamshire. Bresnan admits that did disrupt the players’ performances.

Bresnan has been pleased with his bowling this year

“We lost a lot of focus,” he confirmed. “A lot of the lads were disappointed with the club that they made such a simple mistake. But it is out of our hands.

“We can’t do anything more than go out on the field and play. Once we got round to that train of thought we got back to our usual day-to-day stuff of going out there and playing cricket.”

Yorkshire found themselves battling to stave off relegation as they entered the last round of championship matches, but Bresnan helped to claw his team back from 84 for six to ensure their safety.

“Obviously Yorkshire are one of the oldest institutions in cricket and to be in the second division is not where we belong,” Bresnan admitted. “We belong in the first division. There is a lot to play for next year.

“We worked hard over the last couple of days of the match. It didn’t go as we planned on the first day of the game but we dragged it back and managed to put ourselves in a good position.”

Bresnan himself has impressed everyone who has seen him play, and the winter rewards for him are now in evidence. With all three strings to his bow, Bresnan is just the sort of cricketer Yorkshire and England need.

“I think my bowling has been my strength this year,” he said. “My batting has been a bit hit and miss. I think the Twenty20 disrupted my rhythm a bit. I was trying to slog it rather than just play.

“I went through a bit of a bad trot after the Twenty20. It’s something to learn from and build on and hopefully I will just be able to get my head around it after the Twenty20 next year.”

With the temperament to match his talent, Bresnan is one to watch.