James Bracey produces timely hundred on competitive day between local rivals

SAM DALLING AT THE COOPER ASSOCIATES COUNTY GROUND: According to many observers there is a lot to like about Bracey, and this evidence suggests they are fine judges of character

A beautiful quirk of this summer’s domestic schedule is that, for various reasons, the County Championship will be at least seven rounds old before England don the whites in early June.

That gives county cricket’s finest a rare long-run at the handful of vacancies advertised in the Test side. One such position of doubt falls in the top order, and one such hopeful is Gloucestershire’s James Bracey. He is a man for whom the door sits ajar and is primed for pushing: today he gave it another gentle nudge.

Called upon as early as the seventh over, Bracey occupied the crease for nearly six hours, soaking up 234 balls as Gloucestershire responded to Somerset’s 312 set yesterday. By the time the left-hander poked Lewis Gregory to James Hildreth, dusk was drawing in over the Quantocks, and Bracey had made a poised 118. That Somerset’s Tom Banton went out of his way to congratulate the departing batter says a lot about the innings’ importance.

According to many observers there is a lot to like about Bracey, and evidence suggests they are fine judges of character. In an age where many value tempo and aesthetic beauty above all, this was a knock about steady accumulation and a dogged desire to occupy the crease.

If Somerset’s attack came in exam format, it would be Mensa-entry standard. Relentless and with no weak link, for an hour or so either side of lunch second and third change bowlers Jack Leach and Marchant de Lange were particularly stingy, conceding runs at less than one an over.

Bracey though was unflustered, biding his time with minimal fuss. If there was a sense of frustration it was not visible externally: he was not going to offer up his wicket cheaply. A temperament the polar opposite to the man currently managing his beloved Bristol Rovers.

^{Taunton looked a picture for a local derby between Somerset and Gloucestershire}

Bracey is busy at the crease, tapping away on the surface like it is Morse code. Busy but effective though, and punctuated with enough quality to suggest international cricket may be his calling. There will be days when he is easier on the eye, but there was still plenty to admire.

He scores heavily through the covers, a pair of beautiful pushes from Josh Davey good examples, while there were similar strokes on the rare occasion Leach overpitched. He also flicked merrily off his hips and his one maximum was a hook off Craig Overton that sailed over fine leg, Bracey finishing with an attractive pirouette.

His deserved hundred – the sixth of his fledgling career – was met with a hug of Matt Taylor, and a low-key acknowledgment of the dressing room. Then it was head down again, much work still to be done. Even when de Lange, who bowled fast all day, managed to separate the splice and middle of Bracey’s bat, there was nothing more than a shrug.

The 23-year-old is certainly inching toward a Test debut, having been on the cusp for much of the past 12 months. He spent close to 70 days and nights in bio-secure bubbles in Southampton and Manchester last summer, but the closest he got to meaningful action was an intra-squad game (in which he made a half-century). As a result, he missed all but one of Gloucestershire’s Bob Willis Trophy games.

2021 started in a similar fashion, Bracey touring first Sri Lanka and then India as a reserve. Those trips were more fruitful though, allowing him to work on his wicketkeeping with James Foster, while also picking the batting brains Jonathan Trott, Graham Thorpe and Paul Collingwood. To paraphrase Bracey himself, he learned far more than a winter at Bristol’s indoor school would have given him.

Spare a though for Chris Dent too. His name is rarely mentioned in dispatches but for a half-dozen years he has been as consistent as any in the English red-ball game. True, many of his runs have come in the second tier but since the beginning of the 2015 season his first-class numbers have been outstanding: 5,800 runs at an average above 43 with 13 centuries.

There has not been so much as a Lions game, however, although he did play in and Under-19 World Cup way back when. He marked his 149th red-ball appearance with a swift half-century – his third in as many innings this season – but his time appears to have passed.

^{Jack Leach was economical for the hosts}

Somerset have a couple of their own aspirations of Test involvement this summer. Bracey’s bio-bubble buddy Leach is, barring disaster, a certain starter. He finished wicketless but offered Tom Abell control for much of the day. General consensus was he was bowling with a little more zip.

Craig Overton is the other pushing hard to add to his four caps. The standout bowler in last year’s Bob Willis Trophy (30 wickets at 13.43), he has seemingly fallen behind both Olly Stone and Ollie Robinson in recent months.

He was the pick of the home attack today, finishing with 3 for 60, including West Indies Test captain Kraigg Braithwaite early on. Having spent most of day one shivering in the outfield, Braithwaite showed some classy touches before Overton got one to nip back. The finger shot up but the glare and subsequent shuffle suggested displeasure.

With Gloucestershire 203 for 7 and the new ball imminent, Somerset sniffed a lead. Taylor’s career best 53 frustrated them, his eighth-wicket partnership of 71 with Bracey the day’s highest. Bracey spoke optimistically after the close of the game being on a “knife-edge”, but with the pitch-flattening out, the draw looks favourite at the halfway mark.

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