Cricket: Bracewell lords it with fourth one-day triumph

By RICHARD BOOCK

Former New Zealand cricketer John Bracewell, having coached English county Gloucestershire to a unique double-double at Lord's, will be hoping to transfer some of his one-day success into the first-class arena.

The 42-year-old former offspinner continued a remarkable sequence at the helm of his one-day side at the weekend when Gloucester beat Warwickshire in a rain-affected final of the NatWest Trophy at Lord's.

It was Gloucester's fourth consecutive title win at the home of cricket, following victory in last summer's Benson and Hedges and NatWest competitions, and a successful defence of the B&H Cup this season.

Chasing 206 runs for victory yesterday, Gloucestershire were declared winners by 22 runs under a Duckworth-Lewis revised calculation when heavy rain washed out the final.

However, they were well-placed in their reply at 122 for 3 after 29.4 overs.

But as delighted Gloucester supporters celebrated the most remarkable limited-overs sequence in their history, Bracewell's attention was turning to the county's first-class performance, which has not quite reached the same heights under his guidance.

Since Bracewell arrived at Bristol in 1998, Gloucester have slipped well down the county championship pecking order, becoming the first team to be relegated to division two last summer and only just climbing off the bottom of that competition after a recent win over Middlesex

Ironically, in two seasons as coach of Auckland in the mid-1990s, Bracewell carried the Aces to back-to-back Shell Trophy titles but could not find any success in the Shell Cup one-day competition.

His triumph yesterday was a first in all sorts of ways. It was not only the first Lord's final to be cut short by rain, but the first to be decided by the Duckworth-Lewis system or on run-rate - quite an achievement considering the showpiece has been part of the Lord's calendar since 1963.

It was also the first time there had been a medal ceremony without a trophy to present. Television hosts Channel 4 had apparently left the silverware back in their studio.

Before they picked up last season's B&H title, Gloucester had not won a final in 22 years.