Tim Bresnan confident of being fit for first Ashes Test in Brisbane

Tim Bresnan confident of being fit for first Ashes Test in Brisbane

by Andy Wilson
Cricket news, scores and fixtures
• England bowler has been out with stress fracture in his back
• 'I've not really felt the injury since the last time I bowled'

Tim Bresnan has not given up hope of forcing his way into England's team for the first Ashes Test in Brisbane next month, despite being excluded from the 17-man tour squad because of his back injury.

The Yorkshireman has been out of action since England sealed the summer's home series in the fourth Test in Durham in August, when he played a key supporting role to Stuart Broad. But he will travel to Perth with the rest of the squad in two weeks and sees no reason why he could not play in one of the three warm-up games.

"I hope to be fit for the first Test, and I'd love to play in all five Tests," Bresnan told the Yorkshire Post. "Obviously I'm not a medic, but my understanding is that one of the warm-up matches is not out of the question. I'm always confident, always optimistic.

"Stress fractures are notoriously difficult to rehab. Sometimes, you can have them and hardly get up the stairs; other times you might not even be aware of them for a number of years and yet still keep playing. But all the signs point to the fact that it's going really well. So much so, I've not really felt the injury since the last time I bowled."

However he admitted that England's team director, Andy Flower, may choose to hold him back for the later stages of the series, which would be a repeat of the last Ashes tour, in 2010-11, when Bresnan made a major impact after being called up for the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.

"Whether my back allows me to play all five Tests, if selected, is a different story," the 28-year-old said. "We're slightly ruled by how it reacts to the first couple of sessions, and it's very much one that we have to play by ear quite a bit.

"It could be as late as the second Test when I'm actually available for selection in a Test match, and it all depends where Andy Flower is coming from as well. We've got a lot of cricket coming up in the future, so if he feels like holding me back then that's his prerogative.

"I'm excited to be going out there. A month ago, it was touch and go whether I'd even make the trip out there. I'm grateful that England have placed their faith in me."

England have picked five specialist fast bowlers ahead of Bresnan – Broad, James Anderson, Steve Finn, Chris Tremlett and Boyd Rankin – plus the Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes. They play a three-day game against a Western Australia XI in Perth then four-day fixtures against Australia A in Hobart and a New South Wales XI in Sydney, a near-exact repeat of their buildup to the first Test on the last Ashes tour in Brisbane.

However doubts have been expressed about the standard of opposition they will be facing in at least two of those matches, as they clash with Sheffield Shield fixtures that Australia's captain and coach, Michael Clarke and Darren Lehmann, have stressed will be critical to the selection and preparation of their team.

Tim Bresnan
England cricket team
Ashes 2013-14
The Ashes
Cricket
Australia sport
Andy Wilson