Bresnan earns global honour

Bresnan has been honoured in this year’s edition of the cricketers’ almanack, which is published tomorrow.

Named alongside Bresnan are his England team-mate Alastair Cook, Lancashire’s Championship-winning captain Glen Chapple, Worcestershire seamer Alan Richardson and Sri Lankan star Kumar Sangakkara.

The Five Cricketers of the Year are chosen by the editor of Wisden, a tradition that dates back to 1889.

“It’s a very select membership and I’m over the moon to receive such a prestigious honour,” said Bresnan.

“To be included alongside the four other players this year and the great names of the past is very special indeed.”

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth commented: “Tim Bresnan touched the heights of world-class all-rounder against India, hitting a powerful 90 to assert England’s dominance at Trent Bridge, and taking 16 wickets at 16 apiece, including possibly the ball of the series to dismiss Rahul Dravid at Edgbaston.”

Bresnan, 27, is the 43rd Yorkshire player to be a Cricketer of the Year. He is profiled in the 149th edition of the almanack by Tanya Aldred, who writes: “By the end of last summer, Bresnan had won all of his ten Tests, and he signed his first central contract in the autumn.

“Once only pencilled on to the team-sheet, now he is inked – even in a squad full of fast bowling and lower-order hitters.

“Elbow surgery in December eventually ruled him out of the New Year Tests in the UAE, where he was badly missed.

“He is funny company but has no lust for fame, and an unexpected taste for fancy coffee.

“And though there’s not much spare on him now, he still has the air of a man with an emergency cheese sandwich in his back pocket.”

Excellence in, or influence on, the previous English summer are the major criteria for inclusion as a Cricketer of the Year.

No one can be chosen more than once.