Bresnan returns in promising style but Pietersen left forlorn

Bresnan came through 10 overs on the opening day of Yorkshire’s three-day friendly against Lancashire at Headingley, taking 1-16 in the course of two spells.

But while the 28-year-old strives to regain his place for the visit of the Kiwis, one man who will not be playing in that series is 
Pietersen, who is still troubled by bruising on his right knee.

The injury, which Pietersen suffered on the recent tour of New Zealand and which caused him to miss the final Test in Auckland, could hand Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow another chance in the international side.

Bresnan, who has three County Championship games to press his own claims for a place in the first Test at Lord’s on May 16, reported no ill effects after his first proper run-out for nearly three months.

Far from bowling within himself, he revealed he had given it the whole kitchen sink.

“I probably went a little bit hard,” joked Bresnan, who underwent surgery on his right elbow in America in February.

“The physio was sort of looking over my shoulder a bit and saying, ‘Don’t go mad’, but it feels good so I’m just going to go as hard as I can.

“There’s no pain there whatsoever, which is a really nice feeling compared to what I’ve been through over the last couple of years.

“I was always going to bowl 10 overs and I will hopefully look to bowl another 10 overs in the second innings, which is the perfect way to build it up.”

As Lancashire scored 269-7 
after winning the toss, Bresnan conceded only six runs from his opening spell of five overs from the Rugby Stand end.

Four of those came from an edge through the gully by Paul Horton, while his second spell brought 1-10 from five overs.

Bresnan had Karl Brown caught at first slip by Gary Ballance to gain the reward that his performance merited.

Now Bresnan knows he must take plenty more wickets to force his way back into the Test XI.

“Hopefully I can get some wickets in the Championship and then we’ll just have to see what happens,” said Bresnan, who has played 18 Tests, 69 one-day internationals and 25 Twenty20 internationals.

“Obviously the selection needs to go my way.

“To be honest, I’m just happy to be back bowling again because it’s always frustrating when you’re out injured.

“You’ve just got to bide your time and get yourself as fit and strong as possible.”

While Bresnan works towards his objective of playing against New Zealand, Pietersen’s next target will be the Champions Trophy in June.

The one-day tournament is followed by the first of five Test matches against Australia, starting at Trent Bridge on July 10.

Pietersen – currently in Dubai – took to the social networking site Twitter to give his reaction to his latest injury blow.

“Injuries are a sportsman’s worst nightmare,” he declared. “This one is hurting me the most.”

In a statement, the England and Wales Cricket Board described Pietersen’s injury as “significant bone bruising to his right knee”.

The statement added: “Pietersen will have a repeat scan next week to determine when he is able to resume training.”

Pietersen suffered the injury before England’s warm-up game in Queenstown, possibly when he slipped during a fielding drill. He played in the opening two Tests in Dunedin and Wellington despite the fact he was not fully fit. The ECB’s early decision on Pietersen allows the selectors to assess the form of his likely replacements from the county game, one of whom is Bairstow.

The Yorkshireman replaced 
Pietersen for the Auckland Test and will be hoping to be first in line for the game at Lord’s, which is followed by the second and final match of the series at Headingley beginning on May 24, which could potentially feature three Yorkshire players in Bresnan, Bairstow and Joe Root.

Root and Bairstow will be hoping for a long bat today against the old enemy.

This Roses game is very much a practice affair, with both sides able to call on 13 players, although only 11 are allowed to bat in the match and only 11 able to field at any one time.

On a day of bright sunshine and gale-force winds, Yorkshire reduced Lancashire to 133-7 yesterday before Wayne White (62) and Kyle Hogg (69) added an unbroken 136 for the eighth wicket.

After Lancashire lunched on 53-1 from 27 overs, the home side took six wickets in the afternoon session, newcomers Jack Brooks and Liam Plunkett landing two apiece.

Spinners Adil Rashid (1-73 from 21 overs) and Azeem Rafiq (0-47 from 15 overs) were given extended spells, while Ryan Sidebottom (1-7 from six overs) and Steve Patterson (0-15 from eight overs) were miserly first up.

For Lancashire, Steven Croft chipped in with 35, Brown 32 and Horton 25.

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