County star Bracey in the frame for England debut Sport
GLOUCESTERSHIRE’S wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey has been named in a 55-man England training squad.
The England and Wales Cricket Board have chosen a group of players who have been asked to return to training, as England prepare for the prospect of behind-closed-doors cricket, subject to UK Government clearance.
The 23-year-old is one of five glovemen - Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes and Sam Billings the others picked in an enlarged pool of players, which is likely to be split into red and white-ball squads later this summer when international cricket is given the green light to resume.
Bracey is hopeful he could make his international bow this year, after helping Gloucestershire earn promotion to County Championship Division One in 2019 and then impressing for England Lions in Australia over the winter.
“You only need one keeper at a time and it’s a saturated group with five of us in this group,” Bracey told Sky Sports News.
“Working alongside the guys at some point will obviously benefit me hugely as it is a high-quality group. The likes of Jos and Jonny have been doing it for the last 10 years almost, so they have a lot of experience. There is a lot for me to learn from them.
“I played with Ben last year for the Lions and from just a week around him I was able to learn a lot about my glovework.
“If I can keep working on both skills and with the schedule [possibly being tight] it could give opportunities. If you keep working hard you never know what’s going to happen.
“It’s really good to be part of a group that is full of the best players in the country. It is a big step for me and I don’t think it’s the step people expected for me after the Lions.
“I am honoured to be on the same page as those guys who experienced it all with the World Cup and Ashes last summer. It’s pretty surreal.”
Bracey had a breakout year in 2019 keeping wicket and finishing as the highest runscorer across both One-day and T20 competitions.
He also showed his worth in four-day cricket with only Chris Dent and Ryan Higgins hitting more runs.
The 22-year-old’s performances throughout the year earned him a callup to the England Lions side where he impressed against the Australia A side Down Under.
He hit 65 in a nine-wicket Lions win in a four-day clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and hit 58 in a drawn match at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval.
Bracey also made 49 in a one-day win over a Cricket Australia XI in Carrara as the Lions won the series 2-0.
County head coach Richard Dawson is looking forward to a tough selection decision over who keeps wicket for Gloucestershire on their return to the County Championship First Division.
Competition for the gloves has never been fiercer since Dawson became head coach in 2015, with established keeper Gareth Roderick facing an increasing challenge from Bracey.
While both players are more than capable of earning a place in the side as a specialist batsman, Dawson admits he is likely to face a dilemma when the season eventually gets underway.
He was head coach on the England Lions tour to Australia during the winter and took pleasure in watching Bracey hone his skills behind the stumps in the majority of games.
“James had attended a spin bowling camp in India during the autumn where he worked with Bruce French and that’s where his keeping first took a leap forward,” said Dawson.
“It was his first experience of playing on sub-continent pitches and his glovework improved considerably.
“He then kept wicket in virtually all the Lions games in Australia and continued to progress. It is great for Gloucestershire to have two quality keepers competing for the position.
“Gareth is a guy who always responds to a challenge and has an edge to his game, which will make him react positively to competition.
“At this moment, I don’t know who we will go with when the season commences. And, with the possibility of no warm-up games, I may have to go with a gut feeling.”
Roderick has had more than his fair share of injuries in recent seasons, but has proved himself a top-class keeper as well as a consistent run-scorer since making his Gloucestershire debut in 2013.
Bracey has so far made the most of his county appearances behind the stumps in one-day cricket, keeping in last summer’s Vitality Blast T20 competition while Roderick was resting a knee problem.
Dawson is also eagerly waiting to see how 23-year-old Bracey copes with First Division bowlers in the Championship following his impressive rise from Bristol club cricket to Lions player in the space of four years.
“James did really well in Australia and has so far risen to every test placed in front of him,” said Dawson.
“He is a smart guy and applies that to his cricket, finding a solution to each new challenge.
“First Division cricket is going to test all our players, but they are looking forward to it and there is enough ability in the squad to do well.”