Bracewell Still Confident Of T20 Signing
25 February 2013
John Bracewell admits that Gloucestershire have encountered some hitches in recruiting an overseas player for T20 cricket this summer, but remains confident that a signing will be made.
The club’s Director of Cricket had hoped to be in a position to announce a deal in the near future, but says that a degree of patience will need to be shown.
John told this website: “We have found that, whilst there are a lot of players available on the agency lists, not all of them are fully available for the duration of our T20 competition.
“With so many T20 tournaments being held on or around the same time, in particular the one in West Indies, players are yet to decide on where they want to play.
“The finalists of our domestic competition this season won’t be going to the Champions Trophy as in previous years, whereas the winning side in West Indies could do.
“In the end, money talks, so, while we have approached a number of players who are more than capable of assisting us, they are yet to decide which direction they want to take.
“Availability and fitting into our budget are the two key criteria when it comes to making a signing. We are in no rush because we do not want to make a rash decision.
“Our preference is for a top order bowler, who can deliver two overs at the start of an innings and two at the end.
“We thought we had identified the right player, but it turned out that he wanted to miss our finals to go and play in the West Indies, which was not an option as far as we were concerned.
“Our plan is to reach the finals and win so that particular deal has fallen over. But we have other irons in the fire and I’m sure we will find someone else capable of complementing the skills we already have in the side.”
