A more mature Doug Bracewell has put a series of wild incidents behind him to return to the Black Caps. Photo / Photosport
A more mature Doug Bracewell has put a series of wild incidents behind him to return to the Black Caps. Photo / Photosport
Hobart, December 12, 2011 and New Zealand have just pulled off one of the most dramatic test victories.
They had dismissed Australia for 233 to grab a nerve-rattling seven-run win.
In a low-scoring match on a pitch more closely resembling a billiard table, two players stood above the rest.
David Warner, in only his second test, finished unbeaten on 123 in the second innings, and controversially won the man of the match award.
The player who should have won it - and whose overlooking for the award led to a change in judging protocols by Cricket Australia - was in his third test.
"Doug was very much a new ball bowler in those days," recalled national coach Mike Hesson, who was not involved in the New Zealand setup back then. "He obviously swung the ball late and probably bowled close to 140km/h.
"Anyone whose got those skills is certainly pretty exciting."
Fast forward six years and things have changed.
Bracewell is back in the national ODI squad after 14 months out with injury and after a highly-publicised court appearance on a third drink-driving charge.
He took four wickets on his return against the West Indies in Whangarei on Wednesday.
It's possible Bracewell might not have been sighted in New Zealand colours just yet had it not been for allrounder Colin de Grandhomme having to return to Zimbabwe after the death of his father.
Bracewell's life since his debut in Zimbabwe in 2011 has had its share of twists.
"He's a mystery man. I always felt he could have made it," said a colleague when asked how he thought of Bracewell.
Doug Bracewell went from Hobart hero to zero but is bouncing back again for the Black Caps. Photo / Photosport
He might still. After all, he's only 27, has played 27 tests, 15 ODIs and 14 T20s so he's well attuned to the environment.
If he can keep fit - his most recent setback was a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while fielding in a domestic T20 game at New Plymouth in December - and keep his form he has every chance of making headlines for on, rather than off, field deeds.
The name has become more synonymous with trouble off the field than on. The scrapes in the last few years have given him something of a larrikin reputation. They are an essential part to the Bracewell story, if not particularly easy reading.
Consider ...
• In February 2012, Bracewell was stood down for a match by New Zealand in Napier after he and teammate Jesse Ryder had an altercation with a bar patron after an ODI against South Africa.
• He missed the entire home test series against England in early 2013 after cutting his foot while cleaning his Napier house the morning after a party.
• In November that year he was stood down for a game by Central Districts after a drinking episode.
• Early in 2014 he broke New Zealand team protocols while out on the town with Ryder, which also revealed he had a broken foot.
Then all quiet until early this year when he was caught driving with a breath alcohol level of 783 micrograms per litre of breath, 533 above the legal limit. Living near Napier, he was returning home from a function to answer a domestic emergency involving dogs and a pet cockatoo. It was an unwise decision.
It was his third drink-driving offence. Potentially he faced a jail stretch. Instead, he got 100 hours community service and a driving ban for a year. "Pretty fair," was Bracewell's reaction to the punishment.
Bracewell acknowledged he had "stuffed up and made an extremely bad call to drive home from a function because of a personal and urgent issue that arose at home".
He lost his New Zealand Cricket Contract in June, but selector Gavin Larsen insisted that was more to do with cricket than other non-sporting issues.
"Doug is still viewed very positively by the selectors and he has a big year in front of him," Larsen said at the time of the contract announcement.
Talk to people close to Bracewell now, after by his own admission a tough, painful winter of rehabilitation and an encouraging start to domestic cricket for Central Districts, in which his batting has come to the fore, and one word keeps emerging: mature. Or more precisely, Bracewell's greater maturity in his thoughts and actions.
Doug Bracewell celebrates with his team mates during New Zealand Black Caps v West Indies. Photo / Photosport
His batting is developing, too. Always a talented batsman, Bracewell has worked on that skill. His CD coach Heinrich Malan reckons he hit more balls in the winter, as his knee was recuperating, than in the entire rest of his life, which might only be a slight exaggeration.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has known Bracewell since they were youngsters growing up in the Bay of Plenty. The pair shared a 271-run opening stand for BOP against Hamilton in the Northern Districts under-14 tournament in Gisborne 14 years ago.
He insists Bracewell can be more of an allrounder, and be making runs around the No7 spot in the order.
He has had chances at No 5 in domestic cricket this summer. His Plunket Shield scores have been 63 not out, 22, 97, 33 not out and 30 - averaging 81; add in 38, 43 and 35 in Ford Trophy matches and a rapid 32 against Auckland in his only T20 match so far and the signs are good.
"The challenge for us support staff was making sure we held him back," Malan said of Bracewell in the winter. "Douglas is that sort of character who was trying to run before he could walk and we were making sure we put the player's wellbeing first."
Malan talked of Bracewell having taken a more senior role within the squad, leading discussions and believes him to be "the most vibrant we've seen him around the changing room. That's a sign of maturing on and off the field".
Malan acknowledged the off-field tangles Bracewell had found himself in but is confident he is moving on with his life in the right direction.
Hesson, too, seems a maturing cricketer "who understands his game a lot more now.
"He's multi-skilled and being out of bowling has certainly allowed Doug to develop the batting side of his game. He has learned a bit more about the art of batsmanship instead of being a ball striker. He's developing nicely into someone who can make a very good contribution with the bat as well, which gives him a point of difference over our other seam bowlers," Hesson said.
Bracewell is part of a family steeped in cricket. Father Brendon played test cricket, uncle John was one of the country's best, and most combative, spin bowling allrounders at test and limited-overs cricket; other uncles, Doug and Mark, played first-class cricket; and cousin Michael has played more than 60 first-class games and is now with Wellington.
You get a sense there is goodwill within the New Zealand setup towards Bracewell. Past indiscretions can be left there. It's all about pitching forward.
