Tim Bresnan believes the Royal London Cup campaign enabled Warwickshire's fans to "see the future that little bit sooner" after the Bears' emerging generation shone during the competition.
With numerous senior players unavailable, the Bears’ young guns were presented with an extended chance to impress during the eight games – and they seized it.
For Bresnan, an important presence alongside them as senior bowler in the camp, it was a delight to see and evoked memories of his own early days as a professional.
“You always look back and remember the first games you had an impact on,” he said. “They are memorable times. I look back very fondly on moments where I scored an important 40-odd or took a few poles and these lads will be feeling the same about the last few weeks.
“A fair few of them put in match-winning performances which was great to see. Yatesy carried his red-ball form into the 50-over and got his maiden List A ton. So did Lamby who was the batter of the tournament for us and really knitted the batting team together. Jacob Bethell had a really good comp and is only 17, so this comp has just allowed us to see the future that little bit sooner.
“Ahead of the comp it looked as though it might be a bit of a Futures comp and about blooding players. We have done that and the young guys from the academy have come in and really stood up and taken their chances.
“I was drafted in to coach the bowlers for three games during the comp and really enjoyed working with the young guys. It’s challenging, but also really rewarding when you see the bowlers do well.”
The benefit from the advances made by the young players will not just resonate with them as individuals, reckons Bresnan, but also with the whole squad which is approaching the business end of the season full of belief.
“I think the belief really started to grow for us in the early championship games when we had a great win at Notts and then beat Essex,” he said. “You get belief from winning, especially winning from positions where you have no right to, which we have done. In the RL50 we won games after being on the back foot which is great because it shows the lads don’t panic when they come under pressure.
“The rest of the season will be massive for us. We have lads coming back at the right time so, when you look at the grand scheme of things, maybe those injuries weren’t badly timed. We’ve got loads to play for in ‘Super September’, as the lads are dubbing it, so it’s going to be a fantastic end to the season.”
