Bracey - "My ultimate ambition is to play Test cricket"
5 June 2020
James Bracey says his success with England Lions during the winter has fuelled his ambition to rise from Bristol club cricketer to Test match player.
The 23-year-old Gloucestershire wicketkeeper-batsman, recently named in the 55-man England training group to prepare for the return to international cricket, enjoyed an excellent tour Down Under.
And one innings in particular, scoring 65 in the four-day victory over Australia A in Melbourne, gave him a taste of what Ashes cricket would be like.
“We were all pumped up playing for the Lions at a ground like the MCG and the experience provided a huge incentive to go on and represent the full England side,” said Bracey.
“My ultimate ambition is to play Test cricket and if it were in an Ashes Series it would be a dream fulfilled. I think all the lads in the Lions squad will be looking to the 2021-22 series in Australia. We will all have to work tremendously hard to stand a chance of selection, but it is a fantastic target to have.”
While such talk might sound over-ambitious for a player, who only made his county debuts in List A and T20 cricket last summer, Bracey’s progress since making his Specsavers County Championship debut at the end of the 2016 season has been spectacular.
Having initially caught the eye through an ability to play long innings in red-ball cricket, his developing stroke-play and wicketkeeping served Gloucestershire well in all formats last season.
Since then his cricketing education has been extended, not only through selection for the Lions, but also by attending a spin bowling camp in Mumbai before going to Australia.
“Eight players went out to India at the end of November and I was the only one who had not experienced subcontinent pitches before,” he said. “To start with I struggled. Then I realised that, with the ball turning more, I needed to change the technique for playing spin I had employed in England. Now, having also played in Australia, I think I am better equipped to cope with top spinners in any conditions.
“The three weeks in Mumbai were incredible. There is so much passion for cricket in India that hundreds of people were turning up to watch us in the nets, some of them offering to bowl at us. It was just before the end of the trip that the Lions squad was announced. I was optimistic of being picked in one of the groups, but was ecstatic at being selected for the 50-over and four-day games.”
In both Mumbai and Australia, Bracey worked with wicketkeeping coach Bruce French and saw his glovework take significant strides.
Only last week Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson admitted he will face a selection dilemma behind the stumps when county cricket resumes, with Bracey and Gareth Roderick both prime candidates for the position.
Bracey said: “I am happy to play whatever role Gloucestershire feel most benefits the team. But I do feel my keeping improved during the winter. When the Lions squad arrived in Australia, I didn’t know I would be the regular keeper. It was only made clear after the first week’s training.“
Of course, it helped me having Richard Dawson as head coach on the tour. Not many players combine top-order batting with keeping, but it is something I think I can do and it would certainly aid my international ambitions if I make a success of it in county cricket."
Bracey, whose skills were honed at Winterbourne Cricket Club and then Bristol CC as a youngster, was looking forward to starting the next phase of his development by playing in the First Division of the Championship this summer when the Covid-19 emergency intervened.
Instead, he has used the time away from cricket to take an online journalism course, with a view to a media career when his playing days end.
“It was frustrating to have the season delayed on the back of winning promotion and I hope we don’t lose some of the momentum we built up last summer,” he said.
“The lads were right up for testing ourselves at the higher level and I am sure we will be ready. For me, it will be another new challenge, facing the top bowlers in the Championship, and I can’t wait to take it on.”
