Yorkshire trio ready to lift England

Yorkshire stars Bresnan, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root arrived in Dubai last night for a three-day training camp in preparation for the forthcoming tour of India.

And Bresnan – the most experienced of the trio at 27 – feels a three-pronged White Rose representation is testament to Yorkshire’s recent progress both on and off the field.

The Tykes may have been outclassed in the Twenty20 Champions League in South Africa but Bresnan believes even reaching the prestigious tournament was “the icing on a very big cake” from a 2012 campaign decorated by County Championship promotion.

Now comes the prospect of three of the county’s stars simultaneously representing their country – with an extremely proud Bresnan backing the Yorkshire contingent to shine.

“We’re taking over aren’t we, the Yorkies?” a beaming Bresnan told the Yorkshire Post.

“And they have always said that, when Yorkshire are strong, England are strong.

“That’s the suggestion anyway and I think it’s a 1960s thing from when Geoffrey Boycott was playing.

“But it’s immense having three of us there and it’s good for Yorkshire as a club as well.

“It is kind of Yorkshire’s job to produce England players and, at the minute, they are doing it quite well as they have got three in the side.

“It’s testament to what Yorkshire are doing and what they have done this year, especially as well with all the other boys that are involved in the Performance Programme and the Lions and things like that.”

A fourth Yorkshire player has, in fact, been sent for England duty on the sub-continent with Azeem Rafiq part of a quartet of spin bowlers sent to Dubai yesterday to link with squad spinners Graeme Swann, Monty Panesar and Samit Patel.

The hosts are likely to pick multiple spinners on pitches conducive to turn and the addition of Rafiq, James Tredwell, Scott Borthwick and Simon Kerrigan to the training camp will help prepare the likes of uncapped Root and Nick Compton, who have never faced a senior India side on the sub-continent.

Root, 21, could face a baptism of fire but Bresnan feels the Sheffield-born batsman has a temperament that is made for Test cricket.

“I think Joe will do well,” enthused Bresnan.

“He’s got the kind of temperament that lends itself well to Test cricket and he’s got all the shots, as he’s demonstrated this year.

“He’s got runs for the Lions as well and I think he will go really well.”

Root will be in exulted company with Alastair Cook’s side also boosted by the return of Kevin Pietersen, whose extraordinary text message saga appears to have finally been put to bed.

England will also be looking to bounce back from a disappointing showing in the recent ICC World Twenty20 – their Super Eight stage exit followed a disappointing summer series against South Africa – but Bresnan does not believe his country have a point to prove.

Cook’s men may have lost their No 1 Test side ranking but they remain the second best team in the world on the figures and 
Bresnan is exuding confidence in his team’s cause, which starts with a tour match against India A in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The first Test will begin in Ahmedabad on Thursday, November 15.

Asked if a strong showing was needed in India to put England back on the map, the seam bowler retorted: “I don’t think it’s anything like that and we’re not off the map.

“It’s not anything like that and it’s more about looking forward. The past is gone really – it’s been parcelled up and sent somewhere else and we’ve just got to concentrate on what we’ve got to do.”

Reflecting on events this summer, Bresnan added: “It’s been a tough summer for us but South Africa were always going to be difficult opposition the way they are playing at the minute.

“They had just come off the back of a break as well so they were all fresh and firing and ready to get in there and we didn’t play the sort of cricket that we knew we could play.

“As for the Twenty20 – that’s Twenty20 for you and anything can happen. We had a couple of performances where we played exceptionally well and beat teams and we had a couple of performances that we would rather forget and we lost.

“To win a Twenty20 World Cup, you need to play consistently good cricket and we didn’t manage that.

“But I don’t think what’s happened has left us feeling any different and no matter whether you win or lose you move on to the next game. It’s finished now.

“Myself and the rest of the lads are certainly really excited about India. We’ve got a three-day preparation camp in Dubai first which is going to be good and we can blow off a few cobwebs.

“I’ve not bowled a ball for nearly two weeks now which must be a record so I’m feeling quite fresh as it goes.

“I’m quite ready for it and I think most of the lads who weren’t at the Twenty20 as well will be feeling even fresher than that. We are definitely ready to go.”