How Good Is Timothy Bresnan?

[alfie]

Last year i was of the view that Bresnan deserved a spot in playing 11.Howeversince he lost fitness due to injury he has been below par.Might be dropped once again when they select the 11 for next test.Also,Ben has already bettered Bresnans top scored in first test whereas Bresnan has no ton.So Ben will now be a preffered candidate to be developed as all rounder .

If Stokes is kept in, but not as a number six, then Bresnan may struggle to keep his place. On the flip side, Stokes may be seen as a number six, which will be helpful for Bresnan, Finn, or whoever.

Actually , if Stokes takes up residence at six as an allrounder , it might be more important than ever to have a reliable batting number eight...especially with Prior - or AN Other - not producing a huge number of runs at seven.

I am not getting too prescriptive at this time. Two more Tests here; after which several months until the next Test . A lot can change.

Delighted to see Stokes display both character and some ability under a bit of pressure though. Think he will be around awhile , one role or another.

[Gingerfinch]

Last year i was of the view that Bresnan deserved a spot in playing 11.Howeversince he lost fitness due to injury he has been below par.Might be dropped once again when they select the 11 for next test.Also,Ben has already bettered Bresnans top scored in first test whereas Bresnan has no ton.So Ben will now be a preffered candidate to be developed as all rounder .

If Stokes is kept in, but not as a number six, then Bresnan may struggle to keep his place. On the flip side, Stokes may be seen as a number six, which will be helpful for Bresnan, Finn, or whoever.

Actually , if Stokes takes up residence at six as an allrounder , it might be more important than ever to have a reliable batting number eight...especially with Prior - or AN Other - not producing a huge number of runs at seven.

I am not getting too prescriptive at this time. Two more Tests here; after which several months until the next Test . A lot can change.

Delighted to see Stokes display both character and some ability under a bit of pressure though. Think he will be around awhile , one role or another.

Good point. Know anyone?

No, I think we may need a decent number 8, if Stokes were to stay at six, and given Prior's form, although that of course may change.

[meninblue]

Last year i was of the view that Bresnan deserved a spot in playing 11.Howeversince he lost fitness due to injury he has been below par.Might be dropped once again when they select the 11 for next test.Also,Ben has already bettered Bresnans top scored in first test whereas Bresnan has no ton.So Ben will now be a preffered candidate to be developed as all rounder .

If Stokes is kept in, but not as a number six, then Bresnan may struggle to keep his place. On the flip side, Stokes may be seen as a number six, which will be helpful for Bresnan, Finn, or whoever.

if Priors poor form continues,selectors might go for Johnny, who i feel will bat above Ben irrespective of this ton.Ben is scoring specialists batsman's runs which is priceless when the actual specialist batsmen are in bad form.Plus he showed that he can take a couple of wickets in innings.Also,i think he is a good fielder.Bresnan has no ton to his name in 24 matches, whereas Ben has made a very impressive ton in just his second match.I do think that there will be a competition between Ben and Bresnan for a spot in playing 11.Given Bresnan's bad bowling performances in past year,it will be tough for him to get in the playing 11 in a 4 bowlers attack.Will be interesting to see the selection for the next test. Hasn't Bresnan actually struggled to get in playing 11.Sometimes due to poor fitness caused by injuries,sometimes due to bad form.whatever his problems are ,he has to sort them himself, so that he becomes a regular fixture in the playing 11.I guess he got dropped once after the injury struck him.Was it the India tour where he was dropped or was that some other series Having said that, he has played some important knocks and bowled some good spells against WestIndies and few other teams. IMO he is a handy cricketer and hope he recovers from injury or bad form, whatever it is.But surely the competitors won't make things easy as they are better bowlers.

[Gingerfinch]

Last year i was of the view that Bresnan deserved a spot in playing 11.Howeversince he lost fitness due to injury he has been below par.Might be dropped once again when they select the 11 for next test.Also,Ben has already bettered Bresnans top scored in first test whereas Bresnan has no ton.So Ben will now be a preffered candidate to be developed as all rounder .

If Stokes is kept in, but not as a number six, then Bresnan may struggle to keep his place. On the flip side, Stokes may be seen as a number six, which will be helpful for Bresnan, Finn, or whoever.

if Priors poor form continues,selectors might go for Johnny, who i feel will bat above Ben irrespective of this ton.Ben is scoring specialists batsman's runs which is priceless when the actual specialist batsmen are in bad form.Plus he showed that he can take a couple of wickets in innings.Also,i think he is a good fielder.Bresnan has no ton to his name in 24 matches, whereas Ben has made a very impressive ton in just his second match.I do think that there will be a competition between Ben and Bresnan for a spot in playing 11.Given Bresnan's bad bowling performances in past year,it will be tough for him to get in the playing 11 in a 4 bowlers attack.Will be interesting to see the selection for the next test. Hasn't Bresnan actually struggled to get in playing 11.Sometimes due to poor fitness caused by injuries,sometimes due to bad form.whatever his problems are ,he has to sort them himself, so that he becomes a regular fixture in the playing 11.I guess he got dropped once after the injury struck him.Was it the India tour where he was dropped or was that some other series Having said that, he has played some important knocks and bowled some good spells against WestIndies and few other teams. IMO he is a handy cricketer and hope he recovers from injury or bad form, whatever it is.But surely the competitors won't make things easy as they are better bowlers.

He was dropped to accommodate Monty in India. He's not been back to his best since that tour, through injury and lack of form. Like Alfie says, he may be needed at eight, if Stokes bats at six.

[D/L]

After being our best bowler at Perth, there should be little doubt over Bresnan’s selection for Melbourne. His batting ability shortens our tail too although, if Prior plays, it may start at 7 and restart at 9.

Stokes did well at Perth and his 2nd innings performance had no appearance of being a “flash in the pan”. Appearances, however, can be deceptive. It’s no surprise, though, that some are already hailing him as the new Botham.

[meninblue]

Last year i was of the view that Bresnan deserved a spot in playing 11.Howeversince he lost fitness due to injury he has been below par.Might be dropped once again when they select the 11 for next test.Also,Ben has already bettered Bresnans top scored in first test whereas Bresnan has no ton.So Ben will now be a preffered candidate to be developed as all rounder .

If Stokes is kept in, but not as a number six, then Bresnan may struggle to keep his place. On the flip side, Stokes may be seen as a number six, which will be helpful for Bresnan, Finn, or whoever.

if Priors poor form continues,selectors might go for Johnny, who i feel will bat above Ben irrespective of this ton.Ben is scoring specialists batsman's runs which is priceless when the actual specialist batsmen are in bad form.Plus he showed that he can take a couple of wickets in innings.Also,i think he is a good fielder.Bresnan has no ton to his name in 24 matches, whereas Ben has made a very impressive ton in just his second match.I do think that there will be a competition between Ben and Bresnan for a spot in playing 11.Given Bresnan's bad bowling performances in past year,it will be tough for him to get in the playing 11 in a 4 bowlers attack.Will be interesting to see the selection for the next test. Hasn't Bresnan actually struggled to get in playing 11.Sometimes due to poor fitness caused by injuries,sometimes due to bad form.whatever his problems are ,he has to sort them himself, so that he becomes a regular fixture in the playing 11.I guess he got dropped once after the injury struck him.Was it the India tour where he was dropped or was that some other series Having said that, he has played some important knocks and bowled some good spells against WestIndies and few other teams. IMO he is a handy cricketer and hope he recovers from injury or bad form, whatever it is.But surely the competitors won't make things easy as they are better bowlers.

He was dropped to accommodate Monty in India. He's not been back to his best since that tour, through injury and lack of form. Like Alfie says, he may be needed at eight, if Stokes bats at six.

I doubt England can afford a under performing bowler in a 4 bowlers attack.Just taken 13 wickets in 8 innings, which is bad effort in a 4 bowlers attack and puts extra workload on other bowlers like Swann,Broad and Jimmy who have all performed much better than him in the same time span.

[D/L]

I doubt England can afford a under performing bowler in a 4 bowlers attack.Just taken 13 wickets in 8 innings, which is bad effort in a 4 bowlers attack and puts extra workload on other bowlers like Swann,Broad and Jimmy who have all performed much better than him in the same time span.

That comment ignores so many factors other than simply figures.

[meninblue]

Actually , if Stokes takes up residence at six as an allrounder , it might be more important than ever to have a reliable batting number eight...especially with Prior - or AN Other - not producing a huge number of runs at seven.

I don't agree that any under performing specialist bowler being kept in the team because he scores 0- 20 runs. It could be Broad or Swann or Bresnan or Jimmy or Finn. Similarly not worth picking a specialist batsman because he can take the odd wicket. If the batsmen are not performing, replace them with a proper batter . A specialist bowler will never be able to compensate for a specialist batsman.The selectors have to be sure whether they need run from batsman or wickets from bowlers.If they need both runs and wickets then they need to have a proper all rounder.Lets see whether Ben can develop into one.Definitely he has showed more promise with the bat than with the ball.

[D/L]

Equating being under rewarded with under performance yet again. Thankfully, the selectors seem not to always take such a simplistic approach. Heck, they may even remember how Bresnan’s wickets in the Aussies’ second innings at Perth could have been double with a bit of support in the field.

[greyblazer]

Bres being picked ahead of Rankin at WACA was as bad as what happened at A'bad last year. Bresnan's best chance is at MCG where the track holds up a little and he may get contrast/reverse swing. How can the think-tank not see things that are so obvious?

[Arthur Crabtree]

Bresnan looked far too innocuous in Perth and only looked like getting wickets in the slog. He was expensive too. He got a little bounce, but couldn't do anything with it, and with no lateral movement, he didn't trouble the batters.We may have erred in picking him for the wrong game, but hopefully he'll get some overs before he's picked in Tests again. His batting held up quite well though.

[D/L]

To be fair, all our bowlers looked innocuous at Perth but, with some better fielding, Bresnan would have had a decent haul of wickets.

Having satisfied the management that he was fit to play, he was an obvious choice and, presumably, will be for Melbourne too.

[meninblue]

Bresnan looked far too innocuous in Perth and only looked like getting wickets in the slog. He was expensive too. He got a little bounce, but couldn't do anything with it, and with no lateral movement, he didn't trouble the batters.We may have erred in picking him for the wrong game, but hopefully he'll get some overs before he's picked in Tests again. His batting held up quite well though.

The problem with him is he cannot lead the bowling attack even when he is on form. Jimmy and Broad are easily capable of being the highest wicket takers for England in many series and have done so. specialist bowlers should have the ability to carry on the bowling attack when others are not on form.He has just one 5 wicket haul so far.All that after playing most matches in England.However, he still has enough years to improve on wicket taking skills.Being a hard working cricketer i think he will improve and pick five fers.Should look to be a strike bowler rather than being a support for the likes of Jimmy and Broad.

[greyblazer]

Bresnan looked far too innocuous in Perth and only looked like getting wickets in the slog. He was expensive too. He got a little bounce, but couldn't do anything with it, and with no lateral movement, he didn't trouble the batters.We may have erred in picking him for the wrong game, but hopefully he'll get some overs before he's picked in Tests again. His batting held up quite well though.

At his best he dries up runs on wickets that hold up a bit. WACA isn't a track where you can do that because of the true bounce at least for the first few days of the match.

[meninblue]

I do feel that like a specialist batsman when set must convert a start into a big hundred or double, specialist bowlers when in form should convert start into a five fer.

Surprising that the ratio of five fers for English spinners is so high than the pacers considering that they play more matches on pace friendly wickets.

Bowlers from the current squad only:

Swann 109 innings 17 five fers
Monty 83 innings 12 five fers
Broad 117 innnings 11 five fers
Jimmy 167 innings 15 five fers
Finn 43 innings 4 five fers
Tremlett 23 innings 2 five fers
Bresnan 39 innings 1 five fer