Rich Pyrah has been forced to spend much of his county career in the shadow of his big mate Tim Bresnan, but now things are finally starting to change after an excellent first half of the summer.

As Bresnan’s stock has risen courtesy of his starring role in the latter stages of England’s Ashes campaign during the winter and, most recently, in the one-day series against Sri Lanka, Pyrah’s has too.

He has already taken maiden five-wicket hauls in the LV= County Championship and Friends Life t20, becoming the first ever White Rose player to do so in the latter competition.

And he has also recorded a Championship best with the bat too, 87 in the defeat against Durham at Headingley.

Not even a month out with a dislocated kneecap through May can take the gloss off his excellent campaign so far.

“Me and Brezzy are good mates, and I’m delighted for him that he’s had a lot of success over the last 12 months. It also means that when he’s with England, I’m definitely playing,” he said.

“You can only have a certain number of all-rounders in a four-day side. His success meant there was a big hole in the side, and it was mine to nail really.

“I hope to think now that even when Brezzy comes back, I’ll be in the four-day side with the performances I’ve shown this season.”

That was the case earlier this week when Bresnan returned to Yorkshire colours for their Championship crunch clash with Worcestershire at Scarborough to find fitness ahead of the India Test series.

And, while Bresnan took four first innings wickets, 28-year-old Pyrah was not overshadowed.

He claimed the two important wickets of Vikram Solanki and Alexei Kervezee in the first innings and Kervezee again in the second, which one was one of four more scalps.

Pyrah finished with match figures of 6-119 from 35 overs.

And he said: “I love playing at Scarborough. It’s a really close atmosphere, and it’s one of my favourite grounds. All the guys love playing here.

“On pitches where it seams around a bit, it also suits my game.”

Yorkshire are unlikely to have Bresnan available for next week’s Roses clash against Lancashire at Headingley as he will surely be at Lord’s with England preparing for the first Test against Sachin Tendulkar and company.

But, according to Pyrah, they will be boosted by the return of one of the best players around in Jacques Rudolph.

“Jacques is a great player. He’s one of the best players in the world,” he said. “To have him back for such an important end to the season is massive for us.”

Rudolph scored 1,000 runs in each of his four Championship seasons at Headingley between 2007 and 2010, and there is a school of thought that suggests he will return as an even better player having tasted some form of international cricket over the last ten months.

The left-hander has played for South Africa ‘A’ in series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Australia, captaining the side in the recent tri series against the latter two sides.

He posted scores of 90, 98 and 90 in four one-day matches.

Pyrah added: “He was a good enough player when he left us. If he comes back any better, it’s only going to be good for us.”

Pyrah is set to be involved tomorrow when Yorkshire return to Clydesdale Bank 40 action against Middlesex at Headingley.

But, having only won two of their five group matches, the Tykes have their work cut out to qualify for the semi-finals with seven matches left.