James Bracey signs contract extension with Gloucestershire until 2028
3 April 2025
Gloucestershire vice-captain James Bracey has signed a three-year contract extension with the Club, keeping him at the Seat Unique Stadium until the end of the 2028 season.
The 27-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, who made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire in September 2016 against Sussex, has since been a mainstay of the side.
Since his debut, Bracey has amassed 192 appearances across all formats, scoring over 7,000 runs and recording 314 dismissals behind the stumps.
A leader in the Glos dressing room, Bracey will captain the 2025 season opener against Derbyshire in the absence of Cameron Bancroft.
The contract extension adds an additional three years to his existing deal, which was due to expire at the end of the 2025 season.
A capped England Test cricketer, Bracey made his international debut in 2021, keeping wicket in two matches against New Zealand.
On the eve of the new season, Head Coach Mark Alleyne spoke of his delight that Bracey will remain a Gloucestershire player for at least another four years:
It’s a real tonic when a player like James commits himself to our Club.
We are passionate about our cricket here, and James is the epitome of that.
His presence and commitment last year was exceptional, and his reward was a stellar season and a new contract.
It's brilliant work from the Club to secure him at the peak of his career, and I look forward to some more great things as we embark on a new campaign.
Bracey’s record-breaking 2024 season
Bracey etched his name into the Gloucestershire record books with a series of remarkable achievements throughout the 2024 season:
- In September 2024, he set the record for the most dismissals in an innings (7) and in a match (11) for Gloucestershire versus Middlesex at Lord’s.
- In T20 cricket, Bracey took his dismissal total to 37, overtaking Steve Adshead as the Gloucestershire wicketkeeper with the most career dismissals.
- His first-class career-best score of 207* came against Leicestershire at Bristol in August 2024.
- Bracey surpassed 1,000 career runs in T20 cricket during the 2024 season.
- Across 13 County Championship matches in 2024, he amassed nearly 1,100 runs at an average of 60.5, including two double centuries - one at Bristol and one at Cheltenham.
- He was ever-present in the Gloucestershire side across all formats in 2024.
- Batting at three, Bracey played a pivotal role in the Club’s historic Vitality Blast triumph. He top-scored with an unbeaten 49 in the semi-final against Sussex, putting Gloucestershire on a collision course with Somerset, ultimately toppling the Club’s West Country rivals in the final at Edgbaston.
With 84 first-class appearances to his name, Bracey looks set to remain an instrumental player in a Gloucestershire side targeting a return to Division One of the County Championship in 2025. The batter is 161 runs short of 5,000 in the red-ball format.
His highest white-ball score remains the unbeaten 224, notched against Somerset in the Metro Bank One Day Cup in August 2023 at Bristol. This remarkable innings remains the highest score in List A cricket by a Gloucestershire player.
Bracey’s extended stay is a major boost for Gloucestershire on the eve of the 2025 campaign and ensures fans can enjoy at least four more seasons of the home-grown wicketkeeper-batter.
