Bresnan edges Shahzad in nod for Ashes battle

Five Yorkshire players have been named in the two England squads to tour Australia this winter, meaning Yorkshire have more representatives than any other county.

Tim Bresnan has pipped his Yorkshire team-mate Ajmal Shahzad for a place on the Ashes tour, while Shahzad has been named in the England Performance Programme that will tour Australia concurrently and provide back-up for the main squad.

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale and county colleagues Adam Lyth and Johnny Bairstow have also been included in the Performance squad, the latter an unexpected but potentially inspired selection following his first full season at county level.

Despite his excellent form for Yorkshire this summer, there was no place in either squad for leg-spinning all-rounder Adil Rashid.

Instead, Monty Panesar has been named as second spinner to Graeme Swann in the Ashes squad after a successful first season with Sussex, with Kent off-spinner James Tredwell and Hampshire slow left-armer Danny Briggs the spin bowling picks for the Performance programme.

The biggest surprise in the 16-man Ashes party is the inclusion of Surrey pace bowler Chris Tremlett, who won the last of his three Test caps in 2007.

Like Panesar, Tremlett has prospered following a close-season move – in his case from Hampshire – and impressed on the flat pitches of the Oval.

The powerful Yorkshire contingent follows the club's best season since 2001. Martyn Moxon, the county's director of professional cricket, believes all five Yorkshire stars have the ability to flourish at the highest level.

"The five lads going to Australia can all carve out long and successful international careers in my opinion," said Moxon.

"They've got great talent, a great opportunity this winter, and it will be fascinating to see how they go.

"It's a credit to the players themselves, obviously, but also to the work going on at Yorkshire. We've got a great system in place and an excellent crop of young players coming through."

Shahzad will be particularly disappointed to miss out on the Ashes squad after being widely tipped for inclusion.

The 25-year-old's ability to reverse-swing the old ball would have been an asset and he was unlucky to sustain an ankle injury towards the end of the season that reduced his effectiveness.

"Obviously I've got mixed emotions for Tim and Ajmal," said Moxon. "One man's misfortune is another man's gain, and that's the way it goes in life. But I don't think Ajmal should be too down.

"He hasn't played much cricket for Yorkshire and to have got where he has in two seasons is a great achievement.

"I can potentially see him playing a part in the Ashes anyway.

"If there's an injury he could be called up from the Performance Programme.

"As for Tim, I just hope he bowls as well as we know he can.

"If he does, he can definitely have a big impact."

Last month, Moxon described Rashid as "the obvious choice" as second spinner to Swann.

He believes the 22-year-old has been unlucky.

"If the selectors feel they're only going to play one spinner, I can understand maybe why they haven't picked him as back-up because it would be a big ask for him to be the only spinner in the team," said Moxon. "If they were going to play two spinners, that's different, but I do feel for Adil."

National selector Geoff Miller said Panesar and Tremlett deserved their call-ups.

"Chris has led the attack at Surrey as opposed to being an ordinary bowler at Hampshire," said Miller. "The conditions in Australia should suit him.

"Monty went away and developed his game and is a quality spinner.

"He's been to Australia before and has developed as a bowler and also as a person."

The Test series starts in Brisbane on November 25 before the show moves on to Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney.

The Performance Programme will be based in Brisbane from November 13.

The squad will play a four-day match against a Queensland XI (November 25-28) before relocating to Perth on November 29 to play a Western Australia XI (December 7-10).

The squad will remain in Perth for the lead-up to the third Test before returning to England on December 16.

Adam Lyth was last night named Professional Cricketers' Association Young Player of the Year.

Lyth was the first man to score 1,000 first-class runs in England last season.

THE England and Wales Cricket Board will announce next summer's domestic structure on Wednesday.

It follows a meeting of county representatives at Lord's yesterday to discuss the format of the County Championship, Clydesdale Bank 40 League and Twenty20 Cup.

'Dream come true to face the Aussies'

TIM BRESNAN last night described his Ashes call-up as "a dream come true".

The Yorkshire pace bowler, 25, said he was honoured to be part of the 16-man party.

"I was a bit blurry-eyed when I picked the phone up to Geoff Miller, but he just said, 'It's good news, Bres, you're in the squad'," said Bresnan. "It's a dream come true. You watch it on TV as a kid – the Ashes series in Australia – and just to be in the squad is incredible.

"It's the stuff of boyhood dreams getting on an Ashes tour and I can't wait to get out there and hopefully get a chance to perform."

England's first tour match is on November 5 against Western Australia and, as part of their preparation, they are taking part in a mystery team bonding "boot camp" this weekend.

"We don't really know where we're going, so it should be interesting," added Bresnan."

Winter squads and contracts

Ashes Test squad for the tour of Australia: AJ Strauss (captain), AN Cook, JM Anderson, IR Bell, TT Bresnan, SCJ Broad, PD Collingwood, SM Davies (wkt), ST Finn, EJG Morgan, MS Panesar, KP Pietersen, MJ Prior (wkt), GP Swann, CT Tremlett, IJL Trott.

Performance squad:

J Adams (Hampshire), J Bairstow (Yorkshire), D Briggs (Hampshire), M Carberry (Hampshire), M Chambers (Essex), J Dernbach (Surrey), A Gale (Yorkshire), J Hildreth (Somerset), C Kieswetter (Somerset), A Lyth (Yorkshire), L Plunkett (Durham), A Shahzad (Yorkshire), B Stokes (Durham), J Taylor (Leicestershire), J Tredwell (Kent), C Woakes (Warwickshire).

England central contracts: Strauss, Anderson, Bell, Broad, Collingwood, Cook, Finn, Pietersen, Prior, Swann, Trott.

Incremental contracts:

R Bopara (Essex), T Bresnan (Yorkshire), E Morgan (Middlesex), L Wright (Sussex), Michael Yardy (Sussex).