CRICKET : Tim Bresnan has become a sturdy fixture in England’s improving one-day international team – and is more confident than ever that he can continue to grow in stature.
Tim Bresnan has become a sturdy fixture in England’s improving one-day international team – and is more confident than ever that he can continue to grow in stature.
The Yorkshireman produced some of his best bowling yet at this level in an economical spell – which also included the wicket of AB de Villiers – as England crushed South Africa by seven wickets at Port Elizabeth on Sunday. It is a far cry from the mauling he took from Sri Lankans Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga when he was first making his way into the England side three years ago.
It is a situation which naturally delights Bresnan, who believes his personal development has been significant since that first taste of international cricket, and said: “Back then, I was like … ‘Should I be here, do I deserve to be – am I good enough?’ Now I think ‘Yeah, damn right I am. I’ll show you what I’ve got and get you out – rather than just try to keep this on the island’.”
Bresnan, who made his first-class debut aged only 16, concedes it has been an elongated transition for him to feel equally at home as an England bowler as he soon did in county cricket.
“I’m relaxed and enjoying my cricket, and feeling good,” he reports. “That’s pretty much how I operate for Yorkshire. It’s just taken me a while to transfer that into an England shirt.
“There’s a little bit more pressure obviously, and about 20,000 more people (in the crowd) as well. But you’ve just got to put all that aside and concentrate on what you’ve got to do.”
One of Bresnan’s most pressing personal tasks now is to ensure he avoids any pigeon-holing as an ODI player only.
He currently has just two Test caps, to 21 in the limited-overs and Twenty20 formats, and is not in the squad for the four-match series starting against South Africa later this month.
“I’m a little bit disappointed,” he admits.
“I don’t label myself as just a one-day cricketer. I want to be in the Test team – it’s the height of cricket, as far up as you can go. But I’ve just got to work my way into that.”
