AFTER being written off as a limited-overs team by a number of people not too long ago, getting to the World T20 final was a great achievement for England.

West Indies were probably favourites to win it, having lifted the trophy a couple of years ago and beaten England in the group stages of this tournament. But going into one-off games like the one on Sunday, it's all about who performs on the day.

On this occasion it was West Indies' day – thanks to that heartbreaking last over. Nevertheless, the position England find themselves in shows just how quickly things can change in sport.

Just 12 months ago, they were heavily criticised after failing to get out of their group at the one-day World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Now, they are a fearless young side who are exciting to watch.

Hopefully, similar things can happen for us at Yorkshire with our Twenty20 form – but with silverware to show for it.

We have a newish-looking squad and we showed what we can do out in Dubai when we won the T20 tournament, beating Blast champions Lancashire in the final.

We had plenty of encouraging performances from our young lads and there's still some experience to come back into that side for the return of the Blast in May.

There's no reason why our form can't be turned around to ensure we become a really good limited-overs as well as four-day team.

On the whole, I think our two-week tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi through the middle of last month was a successful one.

The lads got some good overs in and some valuable time in the middle. It was a little bit disappointing we lost to the MCC in the champion county game but I don't think we'll look too far into that.

It was a good opportunity for us to field some players who we might need in the season.

If you win the Championship, I don't think people will really be too bothered about us losing the MCC game. I believe Andrew Gale said something similar earlier in the week and I completely agree.

The tour was quite tough on the lads. We only had one day off and there was a lot of cricket played. I'm sure that will put us in good stead for when the hard yards come in the season.

The lads are just excited now to get going with the season proper. We are back training outside, with conditions a little bit different to the UAE!

Going away for pre-season is an opportunity to get some valuable time outside – but it is great to be outside getting used to English pitches again, especially Headingley pitches.

As a batsman, you always want a score as early as possible, so my 86 in the second innings against the MCC has given me a sense of confidence.

Hopefully I can continue that type of form and become a consistent scorer for Yorkshire all the way through the summer.

*****

TIM Bresnan's injury is definitely a blow to us, particularly with how he performed in the matches against Lancashire and the MCC on tour.

He was bowling a really heavy ball and whacking it with the bat, which is what he brought to the team so successfully last year.

Fortunately for us, we've got back-ups ready to go as we are blessed with a plethora of players in our squad.

Not only will that help us immediately in replacing Brezzy, it will also allow him to get fit, come back properly and play an important part in our season.

Brezzy will not want to have any time on the sidelines – but if there is an up side to this, it is that he will be fit and fresh to return at a time when we might lose a few players to England commitments. It will almost be like having a new player coming into the team.

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