Tim Bresnan

Tim Bresnan, Yorkshire – one to watch in 2009

Tim Bresnan’s 2007 season saw 34 wickets at an average of 32, accompanied by two hundreds and a batting average of 39. His understated 2008 season saw 45 wickets at 28 and 506 runs at 33.

It’s solid stuff. He’s an asset to Yorkshire, but he’s not at the stage where you can just say his surname when he’s about to bat or bowl and convey a whole range of hopes and expectation through doing so.

If you said ‘Bresnan’ to someone, what would they think? Would they rush to the nearest TV in expectation of cricketing fireworks, or would they look at you quizzically anticipating elaboration. Maybe if you happen to have addressed someone whose surname is Bresnan, they’ll say ‘yes?’, but more likely you’ll need to add a few words.

In the unlikely event that you do know a Bresnan and felt moved to address them regarding Tim Bresnan and what he might imminently achieve on a cricket field, you’d probably anticipate this confusion and allow for it, so again you’d need additional words.

If you were discussing the merits of Yorkshire cricketers, you could easily find yourself in a situation where you could respond to a question using the single word ‘Bresnan’ and it would be understood, but the context’s already been created there, so that doesn’t count.

Tim Bresnan should aim to make the use of the word ‘Bresnan’ create context and meaning on its own, possibly when allied to an urgent looking facial expression. If we walk into the bar at a county ground during a match and say ‘Bresnan’ to everyone in there, we’d like to see everyone clear out to go and see what’s going on.

Review of today’s update: Rambling and largely pointless. 2/10.

Tim Bresnan crosses the line

It’s okay – it’s a good line. It’s the line you have to cross to get written about on King Cricket.

Tim Bresnan has been having one of those quietly productive seasons in which our Ones To Watch seem to specialise. Despite having taken more wickets than anyone else in division one so far this season – 29 at an average of 23.34 – his 5-94 against Durham yesterday was remarkably his first five-wicket haul.

Complementing his quietly productive bowling has been some quietly productive batting: 295 runs at an average of 49.16 with two fifties and no hundreds.

Liam Plunkett is making his first County Championship appearance of the season in the same match after playing a few Twenty20 games over the last few weeks. Plunkett is having a Bresnanian match himself. He took 3-70 and hit 68 not out, batting at nine.

Tim Bresnan, Yorkshire

We saw Tim Bresnan looking out of his depth for England at Old Trafford for one of his four one-day international matches. The crowd didn’t think much of him. He took 0-58 off eight overs. Fortunately for him, Kabir Ali went for 77 off ten, so he didn’t stand out.

It was in the field that he looked worst though. He seemed insanely serious, which isn’t the worst crime, but he clearly wasn’t at all releaxed. To us, he looked like a man who was decidedly rattled by the large crowd and the occasion. Bresnan was only 21 and he hadn’t played a huge amount of cricket. He wasn’t ready.

Some people thrive on being in the spotlight from the word go. Some people need time to acclimatise. We think Bresnan’s got a lot of talent and doesn’t deserved to be judged on some stage-fright cricket during a wholly torrid one-day tournament for England.

Last year Tim Bresnan took 34 wickets at a respectable but not jaw-dropping 32.05. He also hit two hundreds and averaged 39.50. He’s 23. That’s encouraging.

County players to watch in 2008.