Cricket Glos star Bracey hoping to follow Trescothick’s England path
JAMES Bracey is hoping that having been named in the 15-strong England squad for the Test series against New Zealand, which gets underway on June 2, that he actually gets to play.
Last summer the left-handed Gloucestershire batsman wicketkeeper spent time with the England squad preparing for the Test series against West Indies, and was one of the reserves, but never got to play.
He was then named as a reserve for the series against Pakistan, but the nearest he got to playing was to come on as a substitute fielder.
Later last year Bracey was again named as one of the reserves for the series in Sri Lanka, and in January this year he was named again as a reserve for the series against India - but never got called upon to play.
Bracey, 24, is looking to emulate fellow Bristolian Marcus Trescothick, who made his England debut in the summer of 2000 at the same age.
Last year, Bracey, who grew up in Winterbourne, on the outskirts of Bristol, where he played much of his club cricket, spent time working with Trescothick, who is now the England batting coach and with whom he has a great deal in common.
The former Somerset captain is also a left-handed opening batsman who started his playing career at Keynsham, and in his younger days he kept wicket.
The pair of them also support football clubs based in their home city - but that is where they differ. While Trescothick is a Bristol City
fan, the Bracey family are staunch Bristol Rovers supporters.
Bracey uses Millichamp and Hall cricket bats, which are handmade at at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton, as did Trescothick early in his career.
The workshop has its own toilet and one of the rites of passage for any player using the M&H brand is to sign the toilet wall, which both the left-handers have done, close to
each other. “Marcus Trescothick is someone who I aspire to, so when I went to sign my name I went under him!” said Bracey.
“One of the first bats I ever bought was M&H, and that was when I was about 13.
“When I got my first contract with Gloucestershire I wrote to M&H and asked if they would sponsor me, which they have done ever since.
“For me, its great to be involved with a local company like M&H who make my bats just the way I want them. I can pop down to their workshop easily and they are always so helpful.”
There is another England Test player who also uses M&H bats and equipment and that is Somerset spin bowler Jack Leach, who has also signed his name on the wall.