YORKSHIRE are facing a major selection dilemma ahead of this week’s Roses clash against Lancashire in the LV=County Championship.

It is after Tim Bresnan and Gerard Brophy injured themselves in the Tykes draw against Hampshire on Saturday.

The county have confirmed that both are now doubts for the clash at Liverpool which starts on Wednesday, with Bresnan’s injury perhaps the most serious.

He limped off with a tight calf at Headingley – the same problem which forced him home early from the Ashes – and with England’s first summer test against Sri Lanka only 10 days away it could not have come at a worse time.

Whilst his absence would be an obvious blow to the Tykes, they would arguably be in a worse position if Brophy was not fit to play. The South African, who has had an x-ray on a hand injury, is the only wicket-keeper on the Tykes books this week because Jonathan Bairstow is away on England Lions duty.

Yorkshire have confirmed that he will be assessed tomorrow, but if Brophy does not make it then the Tykes will be left in a difficult position.

It is unlikely that 15-yearold Barney Gibson, who made his debut against Durham MCCU last month, would be thrown into such a high-pressured match, with the county’s other option to perhaps ask England to release Bairstow.

The duo’s absence was certainly felt at the weekend – with Yorkshire first drawing against Hampshire, before losing to Kent in two thrilling finishes at Headingley.

On an absorbing final day against Hampshire the Tykes set their visitors 289 to win just after lunch.

Three wickets from Bresnan then removed the top order, before Adil Rashid and Steven Paterson chipped in with two wickets to leave the newly promoted side at 130 for eight with 13.4 overs still left in the game.

At this stage a Tykes win still looked on the cards, before Kabir Ali and Danny Briggs then dug-in to dramatically deny the White Rose a first home Championship win of the season.

This frustration was then further enhanced by Kent’s performance less than 24 hours later in the Clydesdale Bank 40.

After only posting 230 for seven from their 40 overs with the bat, some disciplined bowling from Yorkshire took the game to the final over.

Kent needed four from it – with Ajmal Shahzad ousting Geraint Jones with the first ball to leave them on 227 for eight.

He followed it up with two more good deliveries to leave the visitors needing three runs to win from the last three balls, but that was as good as it got with Ashley Shaw pulling him to the boundary to bring the match to a close.

Yorkshire will certainly be hoping their luck can change quickly – whether or not Bresnan and Brophy are available.

SCORECARD

Yorkshire Innings
A W Gale b Azhar Mahmood .34
J M Bairstow b Stevens 22
A Lyth c Stevens b Blake 40
J E Root b Stevens 6
G S Ballance run out 47
L J Hodgson lbw b Blake 0
A Shahzad not out 59
A U Rashid c Key b Coles 3
D J Wainwright not out 8
Extras (lb2 w7 nb2 pens 0) 11
Total 7 wkts Innings Complete (40 overs) 230
Fall: 1-48 2-60 3-77 4-145 5-145 6-167
7-179
Did Not Bat: R J Sidebottom, S A Patterson.
Azhar Mahmood 8-1-45-1. Shaw 4-0-33-0.
Stevens 8-1-27-2. Coles 8-0-58-1. Tredwell
7-0-33-0. Riley 3-0-19-0. Blake 2-1-13-2.

Kent Innings
S A Northeast c Gale b Sidebottom 15
R W Key lbw b Patterson 12
M T Coles c Root b Hodgson 47
M van Jaarsveld b Shahzad 74
D I Stevens c Shahzad b A U Rashid 1
A J Blake c Gale b Patterson 19
G O Jones c Gale b Shahzad 39
Azhar Mahmood b Patterson 0
J C Tredwell not out 12
S A Shaw not out 4
Extras (lb4 w3 nb2 pens 0) 9
Total 8 wkts (39.4 overs) 232
Fall: 1-27 2-44 3-99 4-101 5-137 6-195
7-197 8-227
Did Not Bat: A E N Riley.
Shahzad 7.4-0-63-2. Sidebottom 8-0-32-1.
Patterson 8-0-45-3. A U Rashid 6-0-31-1.
Hodgson 7-1-39-1. Wainwright 3-0-18-0.
Kent beat Yorkshire by 2 wkts