Tim Bresnan has emerged stealthily on the rails, like a champion racehorse or perhaps a gallumphing 100-1 shot, to become a pivotal figure in England’s developing team.

In the June issue of The Wisden Cricketer which is out next week, we asked 14 pundits to name their preferred England XI to start the defence of the Ashes at Brisbane in November.

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Extracting anything of significance from England’s two Tests against Bangladesh is like trying to tie down Tamim Iqbal. Tim Bresnan is the exception.

Bresnan’s emergence as an England player has less than inspired the media. Roli-poli sort of fella who bowls medium-fast; he’ll play a Test, a few one-dayers, and then disappear like a Wharf, a Kirtley or a Mustard. But, as Mike Atherton recently noted, Bresnan is one of those cricketers who it is easy to underestimate.

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In picking Stuart Broad to bat at No.7 against the West Indies at Lord’s in the absence of Andrew Flintoff, England may have released the first draft of their contingency plans for another Flintoff injury pre-Ashes. By moving Matt Prior up to No.6, they have given themselves the best chance of taking 20 wickets and ending a run of six drawn matches at Lord’s. But it’s one thing doing it against the Windies, what about Australia? Would they? Should they? We asked our panel…

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