TEENAGE paceman Tim Bresnan could make his Yorkshire Phoenix debut at Headingley tomorrow as David Byas' team have been plunged into a bowling crisis.
The 16-year-old paceman from Castleford played his first second team game last week and today was in the Academy side for their Yorkshire League match at Sheffield Collegiate. He is a former England Under 15s player and was a member of the England Under 17s squad which toured Australia last winter.
He is being considered for tomorrow's Norwich Union League division one game against Kent Spitfires because of Yorkshire's rising injury list.
Yorkshire coach Wayne Clark was today still checking on the number of fit bowlers at his disposal before he and skipper Byas are able to finalise the squad for Phoenix's first game for three weeks.
Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard are both with England, Ryan Sidebottom has sore shins and Chris Silverwood broke down with a groin strain while bowling for Yorkshire against Kent in the County Championship yesterday.
In addition Craig White is still making only slow progress from his back trouble and it remains uncertain how many overs he will be able to bowl on the day.
Paul Hutchison, who grabbed six wickets in the second team Roses match on Thursday, is a likely starter, while newly-signed Steve Kirby, who replaced Hoggard in the current Championship match, is also in with a shout of playing..
"I thought he bowled very well yesterday and he looks as if he could be pretty useful in one-day cricket," said Clark.
"It is very difficult with having so many injuries around but it is important that we beat Kent Phoenix so that we are up among the leading clubs in the competition."
Kirby became an instant hero when he dismissed Kent openers David Fulton and Robert Key yesterday with consecutive balls after they had put on a defiant 93 together on the third day of the Championship match.
But before that, from the very first ball of his opening spell, the paceman showed that here was a character and a half.
He began with an audacious bouncer to Fulton and upon beating the batsman with his next two deliveries he trotted down the pitch to stare his adversary in the face. The last ball of a maiden over beat Fulton over the stumps and Kirby was dancing around in anguish, his team-mates being amused and impressed in equal measure.
Then in his second stint, Kirby hogged the limelight again, wrecking the stumps of Key with a ball which shot through low and breached his defences, sending the bowler into a frenzied jig as he was showered with congratulations.
That was the last ball of his over and with the first of his next he pinned Fulton lbw to find himself on a hat-trick but Matthew Walker managed to keep out a fast and straight ball.
Kirby's next trick was to bowl a couple of beamers to Ed Smith when he lost his footing. He went down writhing and clutching his ankle after the second but quickly resumed and followed up a big bouncer with another glare down the pitch.
Kent, facing a first innings deficit of 201, found their survival task much easier when Chris Silverwood, after bowling at top speed, had to leave the field for treatment on a groin injury.
However, after Kirby's intervention, White, bowling with greater confidence than in the first innings, had Walker caught behind but it was Gary Fellows who really turned the screw by yorking both James Hockley and Ed Smith in consecutive overs.
Kent were 174 for five and still trailing by 27 when rain ended play with 3.5 overs of the day remaining. Earlier, Yorkshire collected maximum bowling points by totalling 413.
Updated: 11:24 Saturday, June 09, 2001
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