James Bracey is ready to play for England

NICK FRIEND: There is so much to like about Bracey, a 24-year-old Bristolian who had just turned nine when Jon Lewis became the last Gloucestershire player to turn out for England in a Test match

When James Bracey was included on an England Lions tour of Australia in the winter ahead of the 2020 season, he considered himself a young batsman looking from afar at the fortunes of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Joe Denly.

He had kept wicket just twice in the previous County Championship campaign and was part of a travelling squad that also featured Kent’s Ollie Robinson, Nottinghamshire’s Tom Moores and Worcestershire’s Ben Cox.

But on a landmark visit through which England went unbeaten, Bracey was handed the gloves for five games out of six; and like much in the early stages of his young career – and we are still very much in that period – he was unfazed and came out the other side with his reputation enhanced.

There is so much to like about the 24-year-old Bristolian, who had just turned nine when Jon Lewis became the last Gloucestershire player to turn out for England in a Test match. No one has ever been closer since, with Ben Foakes’ misfortune bringing a lifelong dream ever-nearer to its reality. All being well – and Bracey insisted on Monday that his position in the playing XI has not yet been confirmed – he will step out at Lord’s in front of a home crowd for a Test debut just three years on from his final appearance for Loughborough MCCU.

There's much to admire about James Bracey, who's determined to make the most of his potential

Ironically, in that game – a three-dayer against Sussex – he was dismissed by Ollie Robinson, alongside whom he may receive his maiden cap. Their respective journeys offer a useful reminder that no two careers are the same: by the time of their meeting at Hove three years ago, Robinson had already been sacked by Yorkshire and started afresh at his second club.

Bracey, on the other hand, was two years on from his County Championship debut as a 19-year-old and had recorded his first hundred in a draw against Glamorgan, representing Gloucestershire once term finished at university, where he studied sports science with management.

And so, he has always been a fast learner: after nine List A appearances, he was averaging 60.87, including consecutive fifties in his first two games and a match-winning hundred in his seventh. His century at Sophia Gardens was the first of six so far in 45 first-class matches, with three of those unbeaten and only one lasting fewer than 234 deliveries – a nod to the resolute craft of Alastair Cook, Graeme Smith and Kumar Sangakkara, three of the left-handers who represented much of his childhood inspiration. Even in lockdown last summer, he undertook an online diploma in journalism and, by the end of the year, was writing thoughtfully about the impact of social media on professional athletes.

^{James Bracey's rise has been remarkable since 2018}

In short, whenever an opportunity has fallen his way, he has pounced all over it. His wicketkeeping – most recently teased by England’s social media channels on Monday with a full-length take to his right – has improved exponentially, in no small part down to two of the best mentors in the business. Bruce French became a major supporter on the Lions tour to Australia, while Jack Russell is one of Gloucestershire’s favourite sons.

Bracey, too, is well on his way to achieving similar status: a product of Winterbourne Cricket Club, where brother Sam is captain, and a diehard Bristol Rovers fan known to celebrate his team’s goals when the roar from the Memorial Stadium echoes over the County Ground as he crouches alongside his slip cordon.

On one occasion in 2019, he watched the first half of a three-all draw against Accrington Stanley before leaving to make it to work in time for a T20 Blast quarter-final.

What is especially noticeable is the esteem in which he is held by those who know him and the sense that all around him are chuffed that this reward is coming his way. “He’s just a really nice bloke, who works harder than anyone I’ve ever met,” teammate Ryan Higgins told The Cricketer last year.

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Should the call go his way when Chris Silverwood and Joe Root settle on their team for the start of the Test summer, Bracey will be ready. “When it comes to batting, I like to be gritty and get in a battle,” he said on Monday. “I'm not afraid to put in those hard yards and go through tough spells which I know I'm certain to come up against when I play Test cricket.

“I'm prepared for the fact that, if I play, I might bat down at six or seven, but I think with my skillset I can fit into that role as well. I’m not massively used to batting down the order but I’m confident I’ll jump into that.”

Because, so far, whenever Bracey has been forced to tackle a new challenge, his own determination to succeed has ultimately won out.

He is one of a new breed alongside the likes of Crawley, selected initially on the modern hunch of analysis and talent identification as much as his record as a professional cricketer, though his returns this summer – chiefly 118 and 83 not out in a famous win over Somerset – are those of a man who was not simply rolling out bland platitudes when he spoke about the benefits of last summer and the subsequent winter as an unused squad member in England’s bio-secure bubble.

^{Bracey is expected to make his Test debut against New Zealand on Wednesday}

“I was really excited when I got the call about being in the 15,” he said. “It's a bit different to how I have been around the group in the last year or so. I think that step-up into the main squad is a big landmark.”

Until now, you see, Bracey has been on the fringes in one way or another, even as the pools have reduced in size and he has retained his place: first he was one of 55; then a touring reserve; when this party was first announced, he was back-up to Foakes. “And now I feel like I am really close. I am really keen to get going.”

The irony perhaps is that this story has gone full circle: much like his first involvement with England Lions – under the tutelage of Richard Dawson, his Gloucestershire coach at the time and a huge fan – he was not expecting to keep wicket when he first joined up with his teammates for a pre-tour pep-talk at Loughborough. Only, he did. And though he was summoned for this upcoming series to stake his claim for a top order berth, he now seems certain to take the reins, albeit in exceptional circumstances, in a position where England’s stocks have been saturated in recent years.

“When I heard about Ben, it was a bit of a shock,” he admitted. “I didn't really have it on my radar to be there as keeper.

“When I got the call it didn't really sink in straight away but once I’d arrived in London it started to become a distinct possibility.

“I’m really excited, but gutted for Ben. I had a lot of times this winter, trying to calculate how I'm getting in the team and how I'm going to get that opportunity.

“A lot of the time it happens when you don’t expect it and hopefully that time is now. I’ve benefitted from Ben having a freak accident and it’s an opportunity for me to not only show what I can do with the gloves but the bat.”