NICK HOWSON finds the World Cup and multi-Ashes winner as hungry and driven as ever after swapping boyhood club Yorkshire for Warwickshire
Captain Sir Tom Moore raised more than £32 million for NHS Charities by walking laps of his garden. Marcus Rashford forced a government U-turn over free school meals. Joe Wicks got thousands of families exercising together with YouTube PE lessons. Set against the suffering endured by thousands across the world, our communities rallied together, and whether it was raising money, losing weight, or dropping off a care package to a neighbour in need, many used lockdown as an opportunity to achieve something.
"The week before lockdown I decided to rip out one of the showers," Tim Bresnan told The Cricketer when asked about his own accomplishments over the past few months. The 35-year-old also built a bar using stumps collected during his 19-year professional career. They might be modest goals, but for a man whose cricketing CV is extensive as his, everything is relative.
As has been the case for many, the period offered an opportunity for reflection, and for a player preparing to sign off a second decade in the sport, there is plenty to consider. The contemplation ended with the decision to fly the Yorkshire nest, where he has called home since 2001, and end his run as the club's longest-serving player.
"I spent a lot of time in lockdown to think about it," he explained. "It kind of made sense to do it now, really.
"I felt like a change of scenery and go on a little bit of an adventure with the family.
"The wife (Hannah) and kids are keen to travel a bit and see the rest of the country and following that hopefully the rest of the world at some point."
Bresnan played 18 times across all formats for the White Rose in 2019, a diminishing role that aligned conveniently with his age and stage. Only red-ball captain Steven Patterson was older in a squad boasting some of the finest young players in the country.
His contract was up at the end of this season and given the financial restrictions counties are under - only Lancashire and Surrey did not furlough playing staff - a tough decision might have been in the offing. Though the reaction of senior figures at Headingley, including brother-in-law and coach Andrew Gale, suggests otherwise.
"I didn't run it past them or ask them for any advice or anything like that," he added. "I spoke to Hannah and weighed up all my options and we thought 'let's do it now'.
"I had an appraisal coming up so, I thought it was a good time to tell (director of cricket) Martyn Moxon and (chief executive) Mark Arthur. They were very good and understanding but a bit taken aback. They understood and respected my reasons for it but they were very good about it."
Parting statements are tough to pull off. The balance between not coming across too self-indulgent or gushing is not always an easy one, and the Yorkshire faithful are not exactly looking for a tear-jerker. The one released by Bresnan hit the right note and included an interesting tribute to supporters for "expecting high standards".
Anyone who has spent an afternoon of Championship cricket in the East Stand or an evening in the 1863 Enclosure for a T20 will know exactly what Bresnan is referring to. There are unforgiving and demanding sports fans all over the world, but they operate on an entirely new plain in this part of the world.
"There is as much expectation and high-pressure playing for Yorkshire as playing for England," Bresnan insisted. "Even more so in certain respects. You're expected to win, at all costs. That goes back to their history. The supporters expect that of the team all the time.
"As time has gone on different formats have made it difficult to put all your eggs in one basket. They expect high standards across all three formats which is difficult to achieve. But as long as they see that you're trying and as long as they see that you're putting in 100% and leaving everything out there on the field they're happy with that as well."
It wasn't long after Bresnan's first senior Yorkshire appearance - he made five and finished with figures of 0-14 from his four overs in the Norwich Union League clash against Kent in June 2001 - that he began to take notice of that hostile embrace.
"There were loads over (comments) the years," he started. "There was one the first couple of years of 'bowl at the bloody wicket'. That is always good advice.
Tim Bresnan won two Championship titles with Yorkshire
"I've had some good times with the members and the crowd. I had got a bit of stick in a T20 and someone shouted as we were deciding who would bowl the last over 'anyone but bloody Bresnan'. That was quite amusing. I was right there. The rest of the crowd went 'don't bloody listen to them Bres'.
"In certain stages, you try and ignore it. The more emotional you get about it you can get drawn into a response. They don't mind because it shows that it cares. If you turn around and tell someone to shut their mouth, which I have done on occasions, then you can feel the rest of the crowd get on your side. It does work both ways."
The crowd was certainly with the veteran during the stunning climax to a sodden Roses T20 against Lancashire in 2017. He took 6-19 with the ball, three of which came during a pulsating final over which also included running out Stephen Parry.
"That was a cracking atmosphere," Bresnan described. "We had periods of rain and the crowd had been wet for a while. Most of them had had far too many pints of beer in the breaks but they came back in good spirits, let's say, and cheered us all the way to glory. The atmosphere was unbelievable. It was the loudest I've heard Headingley in a long time."
Now Bresnan faces having to convince another set of supporters, having moved to Warwickshire, initially on loan, until the end of 2022. Though the aesthetics are different, the surroundings are relatable. He is still the elder statesman among some exciting youngsters. There are familiar faces in the form of ex-England teammate Ian Bell, former coach Paul Farbrace, and a new permanent home of Edgbaston where he enjoyed good times with his country. He took 4-62, dismissing Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, and VVS Laxman, and hit a dazzling 53 in the thrashing of India in 2011.
"The make-up of the team there is a good mix of senior players and youngsters who have got a lot of talent," he gleamed. "They perhaps need to play in an environment where senior players can help them. I've done that before and I really enjoy that.
"It will be good for the lads at Warwickshire, the younger boys and there are a lot of young talented players. It could be really exciting. All Farbs talks about is a will to win. I'd love to add to that trophy cabinet, and that is a motivator for me.
"I am going to enjoy playing with Belly again. We were very successful with England and we've got some good memories of winning with him.
The final over heroics against Lancashire in 2017 was among Tim Bresnan's finest moments in a Yorkshire shirt
"He's so experienced and when he goes out to bat the rest of the dressing room goes calm. When he gets past 30 you know he's going to be in for bed and breakfast.
"He's not going to give his wicket away. He oozes class and watching him in the nets he's a great role model for the younger lads at the club."
As much as Bresnan still feels he has plenty to offer Warwickshire - "I've still got the internal desire to compete at this level and put in match-winning performances" - he will split his on-field responsibilities with mentoring the young crop. They include Ethan and Henry Brookes, George Furrer, Sam Hain and Dan Mousley, among others.
"I'd be silly not to see this as equal parts. I do want to play still and I feel like that's what I still want to do. It is important to look at the other side of it. Passing on that experience is something the club wants me to do."
If Bresnan needed convincing that his career has plenty of legs in it yet, watching 43-year-old Darren Stevens take Yorkshire apart in the Championship last September surely would have. The oldest player in county cricket after Marcus Trescothick's retirement scored a double century and took 5-20 (WG Grace is the only player to complete both during a first-class match at a more tender age) for Kent during the penultimate week of the campaign. An astonished Bresnan couldn't help but be inspired.
"He beat Yorkshire on his own last year. He was phenomenal. He's a genius. It doesn't matter how old he is. You have to give credit where credit is due. That is part and parcel of the game. I've got huge admiration for him to do what he's been able to do. Good luck to him.
He added: "You're a long time retired, aren't you? I just want to play for as long as possible. As long as I feel I can still make a difference to the team at this level then I will continue to do so."
After a career attempting to satisfy the patrons at Yorkshire and putting his body through the mill for England ("That took a toll on my body but I've got no regrets whatsoever. Pushing my body to the absolute limit is absolutely fine."), Warwickshire know they're getting nothing less than an individual who won't use the twilight of his career as a farewell tour.
England enjoyed one of their most successful periods with Tim Bresnan in toe
Bresnan's international career only last six years but it was a highlight reel. He turned out 142 times across all formats, was part of two Ashes-winning squads, taking the wicket which retained the urn Down Under during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, and appeared in two global finals including in England's first World Cup win at the T20 showcase in 2010 in the Caribbean.
It all ended under a figurative and literal cloud in Malahide, a washed-out one-day international against Ireland which also marked the end of Peter Moores' second spell as coach - following a disastrous World Cup. Reports were rife prior to the match that Moores' head was on the block as Andrew Strauss prepared to arrive as the ECB's director of cricket.
"Someone read a Tweet on the way to the game on the bus, and there were whispers, I think it might have been Sky Sports News or something like that," Bresnan retold.
"I'm not sure whether Pete knew which would have been very, very harsh if he didn't know so I can only assume that he did.
"That makes it all the more unbelievable how he carried himself on that day which is testament to his professionalism. If he did know you wouldn't have been able to tell. That is a credit to him as a person."
Bresnan is looking forward to the future as he is happy to celebrate the past. That includes the prospect of his new club facing his boyhood side, though he will be unavailable until next season due to the nature of his initial loan agreement, in either the red-ball competition or T20 Blast scheduled for the back-end of the summer and early autumn.
"The ideal scenario is we meet in a final and I can sit in the stands, support both teams with a couple of beers and watch the cricket." After giving everything to the sport for approaching 20 years, he's earned a moment of relaxation.
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