Much has been written, said and of course tweeted with regards the place in the England side of Yorkshire all rounder Tim Bresnan this summer. Before Lords, it was accepted that he was worth his place in the side as the 3rd seamer due to his ability to score runs, something that The Peoples favourite (and by people I mean a majority led Southern press) Steven Finn has shown little capacity to do in his short England career. He followed this glowing vote of confidence up by registering a five ball duck at Lords in a match in which he seemed to struggle with the ball on a surface that Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad made look perfect for them at times. The match did end in a win, the 12th consecutive of Bresnan's Test life (already extending his national record for the best start to a Test career). And so the same grumbling seemed to come from those hacks for whom a winning England side provides nowhere near the amount of fresh meat needing to satiate their appetite for criticism. If not Finn, then surely Graham Onions must be recalled for the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge. Fortunately, Geoff Miller (head of England's selectors) does not have an office in Fleet Street, and so England were unchanged.
At the end of the 1st Day, it may have looked to some that the sound of sharpening knives had finally hit Tim too hard. His figures at the end of an exhilarating first day were 1-78, and he had hardly troubled the batsman save for his one success in dismissing the poor Dinesh Ramdin. Within an hour and a half of play starting on Saturday, the doubters were nowhere to be seen. Bresnan took 3 of the last four wickets to fall, getting the ball to reverse swing in a manner that Broad and Anderson were struggling to replicate. Not satisfied with this, on Sunday he finished 39* after a partnership with Broad rescued England from a position where they may have ended up trailing the visitors after an old school England middle order collapse, and then ended day 3 with 3-10 (all lbw decisions) as the Windies were reeling on 61-6. Monday saw him take his 4th wicket of the innings (Sammy, lbw) and collect the man of the match award, as England cruised to a 9 wicket win. 13 out of 13.
Those in the media and those who know nothing about cricket (this is not essentially two separate groups) like to call Bresnan "England's Lucky Mascot", as if he is being brought along by Andrew Strauss to help his side pick up wins after his turning up at the ground one day suddenly led to a revival of England's fortunes. His career record to date suggests otherwise. He is well deserving of the title of "International All Rounder. As we see here ;
Played 13 Runs 362 High Score 91 Average 40.22 Wickets 52 Average 25.46 Catches 6.
Compare these figures to the two recognised all rounders currently in the England side with him in their first 13 Test matches.
Graeme Swann
Runs 441 High Score 85 Average 36.75 Wickets 53 Average 31.32 Catches 7
Stuart Broad
Runs 422 High Score 76 Average 28.13 Wickets 35 Average 38.68 Catches 4
Though scoring fewer runs than both of his two mates, he boasts a better batting average, and though he has taken one less wicket than Swann, his wickets come so much cheaper than both of this. Now compare them with these numbers from the first 13 Tests of another England player.
Runs 396 High Score 137 Average 18.85 Wickets 15 Average 46.46 Catches 7
Who gave us these numbers at the beginning of his Test career, figures that show little but flashes of talent and promise? They belong to Andrew Flintoff.
Obviously Freddie was taking his first steps in Test cricket into a mostly awful England side, and had to combat a lot of injuries and slagging from the media (only seems to happen to the Northerners, doesn't it?), but Bresnan's figures stack up marvellously well against these other prizes of English cricket.
There was a time during the early 1990s when the media and fans alike cried out for a replacement to their lost figurehead, one of the four great all rounders to dominate the game for much of the 1980s. A whole host of promising youngsters were saddled with the tag of being "The next....(I'm not even going to mention his name, but he does lots of walks for charity and his quite friendly with Sir Viv), including Darren Gough, Dominic Cork, David Capel, Ronnie Irani (Jesus Christ....). As England's recent successful run continues, the calls for a new saviour seem to be quieter, allowing the next generation to continue in their own sweet time. I would not dare use this article to saddle Tim Bresnan with the weight of being the next "___ ______", or even the next Andrew Flintoff. I am merely happy that he continues to be the best Tim Bresnan he can be.
But lets compare his figures to English crickets foremost Knight of the Realm anyway! Remember, these figures are merely for his first 13 Tests.
Runs 590 High Score 108 Average 39.33 Wickets 70 Average 18.48 Catches 13.
Bres doesn't have THAT far to go, does he?
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