By Andy Wilson
Tim Bresnan is set to go straight into the action tomorrow as England Lions aim to seal their one-day series against South Africa A.
Bresnan joined his first full practice session of the tour today at the impressive facilities at the North West Cricket International Training Facility in Potchefstroom, after arriving ahead of the rest of the squad on Thursday.
He was drafted into the Lions squad last week for the last three games of the five-match one-day series, with the national selector James Whitaker confirming that would give him “the opportunity to show that he is ready to be considered” if England need to make any late changes to their World Cup squad.
“We already had strong competition for places in the team, and Tim has certainly added to that,” said the Lions coach Mark Robinson.
“It’s a good situation to be in with the games coming thick and fast at this end of the tour. South Africa A have called a few well-known faces into their team for this game, and the depth of our squad is likely to be tested.”
Try! With #EngLions v @Yorkshireccc level, @lythy09 puts @timbresnan in for the winning score. @EnglandRugbyhttp://t.co/ZYxS4qZJep
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 30, 2015
Boyd Rankin, who was left out of the Lions’ second victory of the series in Kimberley on Wednesday partly to give him a rest and partly to change the balance of the attack, is also pressing for a recall, with Jack Brooks providing yet another seam-bowling option.
Kent’s Sam Billings is back in contention after being ruled out by illness in Kimberley, leaving Robinson to select from a full-strength squad.
The Lions are expecting to face three members of South Africa’s World Cup squad as Quinton de Kock, Wayne Parnell and Aaron Phangiso have been sent to Potchefstroom by the national selectors ahead of their departure for the tournament next week.
De Kock, the 22-year-old who is expected to be their first-choice wicketkeeper, returned ahead of schedule after an ankle injury in the last game of a one-day series against West Indies in Pretoria on Wednesday, and is keen to have more match practice.
"Feels like coming home" - #EngLions happy to be back in Potchefstroom, venue for pre-Christmas training camps pic.twitter.com/cZiTHPxgtm
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 30, 2015
Parnell, the 25-year-old all-rounder who has played for Kent and Sussex, featured in the last two games of the West Indies series and took four wickets in Pretoria.
Phangiso, a left-arm spinner, also played in those two matches and will be on home territory at Senwes Park, the Potchefstroom cricket stadium which acts as an alternative home ground to the Wanderers in Johannesburg for the Highveld Lions franchise.
The majority of the England Lions squad have also relished returning to familiar surroundings in Potchefstroom, which was the base for pre-Christmas training camps and has hosted numerous international sports squads in recent years, including the England rugby league squad before the 2013 World Cup and the Spain football team before their triumphant 2010 campaign.
Bresnan’s arrival increased the Yorkshire contingent in the squad to seven, and they took on ‘The Rest’ in a game of touch rugby before training.
Bresnan, a keen Castleford Tigers supporter, scored the winning try from an inside pass from Adam Lyth, but several of ‘The Rest’ players were still complaining vehemently that the previous Yorkshire touchdown had come from a forward pass which was not picked up by Pete Atkinson, the squad’s strength and conditioning coach. Atkinson is from Yorkshire.