(Cricket news) The 33-year-old scion of one of New Zealand cricket’s most famous cricket families took a career-best 8/41 off just 11.4 overs at the Cello Basin Reserve this afternoon to ensure the Wellington Firebirds took an innings victory over the Otago Volts, with a day to spare.
Off-spinner Bracewell’s previous best first-class figures (having moved, several years ago, towards becoming a spinning allrounder in order to increase his chance of BLACKCAPS selection) had been 5/43 in 2019/20 – the first season he began to bowl at first-class level, having previously played for nine seasons as a batsman only.
Today he led the way to bowl out the Otago Volts for just 99 in 27.4 overs in their second innings, with the Wellington spinners – Bracewell and leg-spinning accomplice Peter Younghusband (2/27) – taking all 10 wickets to fall, and 15 for the match between them, after Younghusband’s bag in the first innings.
The result gives the Firebirds the maximum 20 points for the match, returning them to the top of the table where they currently hold a four-point (interim) lead over former leader Northern Districts.
Northern Districts will reclaim that lead tomorrow should they beat Canterbury in Rangiora, where ND still has a big job to do, trailing overall by 13 runs with seven wickets remaining (at time of writing).
The Firebirds’ victory in Wellington meanwhile sets up a must-see last match in Hamilton from Sunday when they will be taking on ND, the two frontrunners for this season’s national title going head-to-head.
Bracewell twice put himself on a hat-trick (unconverted) today during his star turn, and he rocked the Volts by taking three wickets – Thorn Parkes, Dale Phillips and captain Dean Foxcroft for a golden duck – in a game-changing, chaotic eighth over from which the remainder of the Volts line-up never recovered.
The career-best performance comes less than a year after Bracewell was invalided out of the 2023 County Championship season in England, where he was playing as an overseas professional, with a ruptured right Achilles tendon – missing the BLACKCAPS’ World Cup last year and more, before making his return to the first-class arena in the key match he has just helped to win by an innings and 42 runs.
Meanwhile in Napier, wicketkeeper-batter Dane Cleaver has had a day to remember, breaking the Central Stags’ all-time record for first-class dismissals that was previously held by another Manawatū stalwart, Bevan Griggs.
Cleaver had begun the day at McLean Park needing one more dismissal to equal Griggs’s record of 232, and two to set a new mark outright – which he did in style with a superb leg-side take to dismiss another former Manawatū and Central Stags representative (now representing the Auckland Aces), George Worker.
Griggs said he was thrilled to see his record fall.
“Dane deserves to lead the way. He’s been remarkable for the Central Districts Association and it’s a testament to his longevity.
“Like myself, he’s also benefited from a great seam attack, and above all he’s a great person.”
The Stags and Aces left the field for bad light on the third afternoon with the Aces 176/4 in their second innings, leading overall by 76 runs with six wickets in hand ahead of tomorrow’s decisive day – the defending champion Stags needing an outright victory to stay an outside chance for this year’s title.
First innings Bonus Points – Round 7
Northern Districts 3
Wellington Firebirds 8
Central Stags 7
Canterbury 7
Otago Volts 6
Auckland Aces 5
Interim points table (*match in progress)
Wellington Firebirds 87
Northern Districts 83*
Central Stags 65*
Canterbury 55*
Otago Volts 49
Auckland Aces 34*
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