BIG-HITTING Michael Bracewell believes Worcestershire Rapids have ‘match-winners all over the park’ and said glowing reports from fellow Kiwis ‘tipped the scales’ in him signing for the 2023 Vitality Blast campaign.
The all-rounder follows in the footsteps of Black Caps Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mitchell Santner, Hamish Rutherford and Ish Sodhi, who have played red and white ball cricket for Worcestershire in recent years.
Bracewell has helped the Rapids win four of their first six T20 games and smashed 55 off just 27 balls as the Rapids overcame the Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge on Friday (June 2).
“It’s a great place, and I’m really enjoying it. I love playing the game,” he said.
“It’s my first experience of Vitality Blast and really enjoying the experience so far and being in England, experiencing the county life.”
Defeat to the Northants Steelbacks on Sunday (June 4) ended the Rapids’ 100 per cent start and the Rapids will look to bounce back from Wednesday’s defeat to Lancashire Lightning in Friday’s clash with the Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley.
Bracewell has been impressed with the way the Rapids have launched their T20 campaign.
He said: “T20 is all about momentum, and we’ve been able to win two or three games early on in the tournament and hopefully can carry that on a little bit further.
“We want to entertain the crowd, and that is what T20 is about. It is about bringing the crowds in and entertaining them.
“We’ve got match-winners all over the park. You saw Finchy (Adam Finch) come out the other day and smack 30 off ten balls.
“We back all the guys right down to number 11, so it just shows the depth in the squad at the moment and the guys playing with confidence.”
Bracewell is enjoying the different challenges of English conditions compared to India where he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
He said: “The wickets are quite different. I’ve been in India for the past two months, and maybe that’s part and parcel of why I’m struggling a little with the bat at the moment.
“I’ll be working hard in the nets on things like that, and the beauty of being an all-rounder is that you get two bites of the apple.
“I’m happy to contribute with the ball to games of cricket and try and win games.
“The IPL is brilliant. There are plenty of guys to learn from in that environment. You are playing with some of the best players in the world and against a lot of the best players in the world.
“You pick up little things along the way.”