Shane Warne and Piers Morgan reacted with incredulity at Tim Bresnan’s introduction into the England attack at a crucial point of the fourth Test in Durham back in 2013. “Cook’s lost the plot here,” Morgan tweeted, but three balls later the Yorkshireman got the wicket of David Warner and England were on their way to victory over Australia. Bresnan is that type of cricketer.
“Bres gave us a lot more balance in our attack. He’s been massive for us,” Andrew Gale, the Yorkshire captain, said after the all-rounder played a vital role in this win against Lancashire that took them joint top of the Championship table at the expense of their old foe and secured their second home Roses victory in 25 seasons.
Lancashire started the final day with one wicket down and 308 runs required for victory, and their spirits were no doubt lifted when the gathering gloom forced Gale to bring on the spinners Adil Rashid and Adam Lyth. But the change brought with it complacency and Haseeb Hameed was soon caught behind cutting Rashid before, in the next over, Luke Procter edged Lyth to Bresnan at slip.
When the light improved, Bresnan was back on and soon accounted for Steve Croft, who played-on, and Alviro Petersen, who was trapped in front for the fifth time in 10 innings this season. By then the score was 98 for five but Karl Brown and Liam Livingstone did manage to steady the ship either side of lunch.
After compiling a sixth-wicket partnership of 63, however, Livingstone lost patience with a Rashid long hop which was slapped to Liam Plunkett at deep-square-leg and from then the end came rather quicker than anyone expected. Lancashire lost their last five wickets for 12 runs in 10 overs before tea, despite Brown’s battling half century.
Rashid picked up the final wicket when Kyle Jarvis was out lbw and the leg-spinner, like Bresnan, made a crucial contribution to the win with seven for 54 in the match to go with his first-innings score of 88. “Our top-five batsmen are not firing as we would like but we are working hard to get it right,” Gale said. “We are still winning games of cricket while not firing fully as a team. Our form doesn’t warrant being top of the league but we are finding ways to win.”
Ashley Giles, Lancashire’s cricket director and head coach, also acknowledged Yorkshire’s all-rounders after they changed the course of a game in which the home side were five for 74 on the first morning. “We knew this would be our biggest challenge so far this season and we opened the door on the first morning but didn’t quite get through it. Bresnan and Rashid batted very well and Yorkshire’s tail wagged in both innings.”
