The 28-year-old, who has replaced Jason Holder at the helm in Test cricket, will leave Antigua for Bristol at the conclusion of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka
Gloucestershire have signed West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite as an overseas player for first segment of their County Championship season.
The 28-year-old, who has replaced Jason Holder at the helm in Test cricket, will leave Antigua for Bristol at the conclusion of the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Given Covid restrictions and quarantine rules upon entering the United Kingdom, it is likely that Brathwaite’s debut will come against local rivals Somerset rather than in Gloucestershire’s opening clash with Surrey.
Overall, he will be available for eight games, though not the two rounds of fixtures in July at Cheltenham, joining Australian seamer Dan Worrall as the club's second overseas option.
Brathwaite, who has also represented Glamorgan, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, said: “I truly look forward to the opportunity to represent Gloucestershire. I have always enjoyed county cricket and cherished the times I’ve been able to play in England.
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“I’m excited to come to Bristol and do my best for the team, the club and of course the Gloucestershire supporters.”
He recorded his ninth Test hundred last week, making 126 in the drawn first encounter with Sri Lanka.
Interim head coach Ian Harvey added: “To be able to bring somebody in who has played the number of Tests Kraigg has, and now as captain, is going to be a massive boost for the guys in the dressing room. He will obviously add quality to the team now but also moving forward as a group, his presence here will be extremely beneficial for us.
“Kraigg has been on our radar for some time now. The way he goes about playing the game really impresses a lot of people at the club and it’s fantastic that we’ve been able to bring him in for the early part of the County Championship.
“He opens the batting for his country so it would be hard to look past an opening partnership of Brathwaite and (Chris) Dent but we do have a lot of quality players that will fit well around him.”
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