Geoffrey Boycott has labelled Yorkshire’s Tim Bresnan “a very average bowler” in Test match terms.

The straight-talking Yorkshire president was giving his opinion on England’s back-up pace bowling options ahead of back-to-back Ashes series in 2013-14 to the cricinfo website – and it is a view that won’t go down well inside the Headingley dressing room.

Boycott was asked to compare Australia’s options with England’s and he said: “We do have the three that matter, with (James) Anderson, Steven Finn and Stuart Broad. Our problem comes with our back-up – and we haven’t really got any.”

He went on to say: “Tim Bresnan has got an elbow injury – he has gone back to Yorkshire.

“I think he is a very average bowler. I don’t think he is going to frighten anybody. I know he’s from Yorkshire but that doesn’t bother me.

“I give you a professional opinion. I think he bowls too wide on the crease. I think he is a fill-in bowler. He’s not really going to worry top batsmen.”

The ex-England opener, who earmarked Middlesex’s James Harris for a big future, also spoke about another Yorkshire fast bowler.

He said: “We signed up a boy from Northants called Jack Brooks. He’s quite a decent bowler and he looked very good a couple of years ago.

“Again, he hasn’t really gone forward. Yorkshire have taken a punt on him, paid him some good money and hoped to get him fit to bowl well.

“But if you ask me, hand on heart, do I think the Aussie fast bowling is better than ours for the future? Yes, it is.”

Bresnan, 28, has taken 57 wickets from 18 Tests, including 11 in two Tests during the last Ashes series in 2010-11.

He is expected to be fit for the start of next month’s county season after having surgery on his right elbow in America last month.

Meanwhile, Yorkshire have their eyes set on defending their Barbados Twenty20 Cup title this weekend, starting today against Hampshire.

Success in the Caribbean last year laid the platform for a fine domestic summer and Bradford-born fast bowler Moin Ashraf said: “We won it in Barbados last year and we want to win it again.

“We set high standards to follow last year, so hopefully we can achieve those again.”

A Phil Jaques century was the stand-out performance in a drawn two-day intra-squad match which finished on Thursday.