"He is gutted"- James Bracey talks about how Ben Foakes reacted to his injury setback
James Bracey has opened up on the support he has received from Ben Foakes ahead of England's two-match home Test series against New Zealand. Bracey is set to replace Foakes as the hosts' wicketkeeper-batter after the latter picked up a freak hamstring injury.
James Bracey has revealed that Ben Foakes has taken his moment of misfortune positively and has, in fact, given him a few tips ahead of his much-awaited Test debut.
"I am gutted for Ben. I reached out to him in the last couple of days because there are little things that you don’t get from not keeping to people in games, and he gave me a couple of little tips. I know he is gutted but he has been brilliant with me over the last 48hours," Bracey was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
England have already given the likes of Jos Buttler and other players involved in IPL 2021 an extended time off. Ben Foakes was in line to play the upcoming two Tests against New Zealand. But a freak hamstring injury means James Bracey will likely make his Test debut at Lord's tomorrow.
"I’m in a really good place with my batting" - James Bracey
James Bracey has been in good form in the County Championship this summer, averaging 47.9 with the bat for Gloucestershire. Although he bats at no.3 for his County side, he is expected to come lower down the order for England.
“I’m in a really good place with my batting, I came out of the tour to Sri Lanka and India and looked at myself and thought I could do a job in Test cricket in that top three. That’s what I’ve been aiming to do. Opportunity comes with the gloves but I want to be batting in the top three as well. If the option comes to do that at some point, I’m really excited for it. I’m not massively used to batting down the order. But I’m confident I’ll jump into that and be good as well,” Bracey added.
The 24-year-old has played 45 first-class matches, amassing 2575 runs at an average of 36.78. He also has six hundreds and 12 fifties to his name.
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