THE man who won the Ashes seems to be taking all the adulation in his stride.
Tim Bresnan is back home in Yorkshire resting a calf injury that has seen him miss the majority of England’s current ODI series in Australia, but he was in confident mood.
When faced with the description of ‘the man who won the Ashes’ the 25-year-old laughed and modestly said: “I am just the same bloke really.”
Making his first appearance in the Ashes series in the fourth Test at the MCG in Melbourne, Bresnan bowled economically, taking two for 25 in the first innings as Australia were bowled out for just 98 and in the second innings, he took the top-order wickets of Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson and Michael Hussey before taking the final wicket of Ben Hilfenhaus.
That final wicket saw England win by an innings and 157 runs, take a 2-1 lead in the series and therefore retain the Ashes.
However, the bowling all-rounder from Pontefract admitted that it was only coming back to England that had brought home to him just what a big deal retaining the Ashes was.
“When you are away you are essentially in a bubble and try and keep your attention on training and playing,” said Bresnan.
“We tried to avoid the Australian press as they are either trying to knock you down, or pump you up and the last thing you can do is get drawn into believing the hype.
“But, having come home, the reaction has just been unbelievable.”
The Yorkshire seamer believes England can go on and win the one-day international series against Australia, despite facing three more must-win games in order to achieve it.
After falling 3-0 behind in the series, England proved they have a stomach for the win-or-bust occasion when they claimed a 21-run win in Adelaide on Wednesday – with the fifth match of the series in Brisbane tomorrow.
“It was not so much that it was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show, but more that there were a lot of tired blokes out there,” said Bresnan.
“And the one-day game is a different proposition from a Test.
“You only need to have a poor 10 overs and you have lost the game in one-day cricket and I think that is what has happened.
“But after the win in Adelaide I really think that we can go on and win the series.”
However, Bresnan’s next target is to be fit for next month’s World Cup on the sub-continent and he is both sure he will be ready to play and looking forward to the challenge.
“I am working on my rehabilitation now and there is no reason why I won’t be fit to play in the first game,” said Bresnan, who made his mark in Test cricket in Bangladesh taking seven wickets at 32.29 and he also scoring his maiden Test half-century in the second match when he hit 91.
“Obviously Bangladesh is one of my favourite places and I am looking forward to getting back to bowling on those pitches.
“We want to become one-day world champions having won the Twenty20 version, but it is going to be hard out there and it is never easy to beat India on their own soil.”
