Return of the cricket king (From Gazette Series)

Return of the cricket king

THE return of a hero is usually a much-celebrated event, although the circumstances surrounding this particular homecoming are huge, and the public reaction fervent.

John Bracewell's return to the County Ground on July 4 is bound to be one of the highlights of the cricketing year in Gloucestershire, and tickets are already selling at a supersonic rate for the occasion.

The event in question is England's Natwest Series match against New Zealand at the County Ground, home of Gloucestershire CCC, in the summer. This one-day international marks another huge date for the county, as the national team makes its second appearance in Bristol in as many years.

The real significance of the match, however, lies with the return to Bristol of legendary former Gloucestershire coach Bracewell, now in charge of New Zealand, who will make the surreal move of leading out a new team at his old home. Bracewell, a one-time Kiwi international spin bowler, guided Gloucestershire to six one-day trophies during his six year reign at the club, an unprecedented run that made him the team's most successful coach of all time.

Having taken over the management of the New Zealand national team in November, Bracewell has thrown himself into his new task, although July 4 will be a big day as the Kiwi 'comes home' to Bristol, where he made his name as a coach.

The return of Bracewell has attracted much interest from the region's cricket fans, with many hoping to once more pay their respects to a man who transformed the fortunes of Gloucestershire.

With this in mind, tickets for the big international have been selling at a rapid rate already. 8,000 of the 15,000 seats that the stadium holds have been sold already, and talk of a sell-out attendance is rife at the club.

Last year, the County Ground staged the England versus Zimbabwe clash, also in the Natwest Series, and the attendance for that match was just below the capacity level.

Meanwhile, Gloucestershire are set to strengthen their pursuit of Australian pace bowler Andy Bichel as their initial hopes of signing national hero Darren Gough appear to be over.

A blur of excitement had raged around the club last week with the news that pace ace Gough wanted to play for a Southern county in order to be close to his family home in Milton Keynes. However, it would appear that Gloucestershire is not quite near enough, and Warwickshire and Essex are now the favourites to sign the former Yorkshire bowler.

It is now thought that the club's thoughts have turned to Bichel, who would become the county's second overseas signing following last year's recruitment of Shoaib Malik.

With Bichel's test place with Australia not a certainty, it is possible that the 33-year-old bowler would be available for virtually the whole of the English season.

Elsewhere, the four Gloucestershire players heading for specialist spin coaching in Mumbai, India are Philip Weston, Matt Windows, Mark Hardinges and Ian Fisher, and they will depart on March 1 and return on March 11.

l Tickets for the England v New Zealand clash at the County Ground, Bristol, on Sunday, July 4, are priced at £30 for adults, with under 16s tickets costing £15 and members tickets £20.

To book seats, call the box office on 0117 910 8046, or book online at www.glosccc.co.uk.