Michael Bracewell is a New Zealand cricketer who is known for scoring the third-fastest century for New Zealand in ODI cricket against India in 2023. In 2023, he was chosen by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the IPL series as a replacement player for Will Jacks who was injured.
Wiki/Biography
Michael Gordon Bracewell was born on Thursday, 14 February 1991 (age 32 years; as of 2023) in Masterton, New Zealand. His zodiac sign is Aquarius. His hometown is Dunedin, New Zealand. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in business and finance (2015 – 2018) at Massey University, New Zealand. His family has a great history of cricket and since childhood, he was interested in cricket. He used to visit Carisbrook stadium, New Zealand when he was 10 years old to watch the cricket game between Black Caps and England. According to him, his father used to give him cricketing advice since Michael was 2 years old which he valued the most.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Michael’s father’s name is Mark Bracewell, who is a former cricketer.
Michael Bracewell’s father
Other Relatives
Michael has three paternal uncles, Brendon Bracewell, John Bracewell, and Douglas Bracewell. All of them are former cricketers.
Michael Bracewell’s uncle Brendon Bracewell
Michael Bracewell’s cousin John Bracewell
His cousin’s name is Doug Bracewell, who is a cricketer, and Melanie Bracewell, who is a comedian, actress and scriptwriter.
Michael Bracewell’s cousin Doug Bracewell
Michael Bracewell’s cousin Melanie Bracewell
Wife & Children
He got married to Lauren Ralston Bracewell on 22 June 2019.
Michael Bracewell with Lauren Ralston Bracewell
Together they have a son, Lennox.
Michael Bracewell with his son
Relationships/Affairs
He was in a relationship with Lauren Ralston Bracewell before getting married to her in 2019.
Career
Domestic Cricket
He was part of Otago Sparks from September 2011 to April 2017.
Michael Bracewell as a part of the Otago Cricket team
He joined the Wellington cricket team in September 2017 and still plays for them. After she joined the team, he became the captain of the team. In June 2018, he received a contract for the 2018-2019 season with Wellington Firebirds. In March 2020, he played the 2019–20 Plunket Shield season and took his maiden five-wicket haul in round six. In June 2020, he again received the contract from Wellington ahead of the 2020–21 domestic cricket season. On 8 January 2022, he played the 2021–22 Super Smash tournament for the Wellington Firebirds against the Central Stags he scored 141 runs becoming the highest score in a Twenty20 cricket match in New Zealand.
Michael Bracewell playing for the Wellington Firebirds
International Cricket
In March 2022, he was chosen for New Zealand’s One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) squad against the Netherlands. In May 2022, he was chosen for New Zealand’s Test squad for their tour of England. On 20 July 2022, he played the T20I series and in the second match against Ireland, he took his first hat-trick in the first over. In January 2023, in an ODI match against India, he scored the third-fastest century for New Zealand. After his performance, he became the only batter to score more than one century while batting at number seven or below and reached MS Dhoni‘s record. On 11 July 2022, in the ODI match between Ireland and New Zealand, he hit 127 runs. He was the last one to bat and hit 24 runs off 5 balls because of which the team won the match. In December 2022, he was selected for the New Zealand national cricket team in all three forms of the game. In 2023, the New Zealand team was to chase the target of 350 runs in the ODI match against India, but when Michael went to bat the score of the team was 131/6. He went batting on number 7 and scored 140 runs. His performance was appreciated a lot by everyone, but the team did not win the match. In an interview, he talked about his performance and said,
T20 has been a huge influence on one day cricket and that is what makes one day cricket so exciting. You can be in a position like we were in and you can still work your way up to a position of power. I don’t think we got ourselves to a position of power but we got ourselves in a position where we could have won the game.”
On 31 March 2023, before the IPL series, he played in the instar-squad practice match and scored 105 off 55 balls, including 8 fours and 7 sixes.
Corporate Work
In May 2019, he joined FNZ Group as a Corporate Actions Analyst and worked there till June 2021. In June 2021, he joined Flux Federation as an Accounts Assistant and worked there till February 2022. In July 2022, he played an ODI match against Ireland and scored his first century.
Records
- 140 runs in ODI against India on 18 January 2023
- 250 runs and 10 wickets in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, 2020-2022/23
- Highest partnership for the seventh wicket with 162 runs in an ODI match against India on 18 January 2023
- Best strike rate in innings (1.6) against Ireland on 20 July 2022
Facts/Trivia
- His jersey number for New Zealand is 4.
- His batting style is the left-hand bat and his bowling style is right-arm off-break.
- He has a tattoo inked on his waist.
Michael Bracewell’s tattoo
- In January 2010, he was issued the Level 2 Coaching Certificate from New Zealand Cricket Association.
- In 2023, he was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rs. 1 Crore to replace England batter, Will Jacks.
- In 2023, when he bowled in a match against Sri Lanka, the ball changed its direction because the weather turned windy. The incident occurred because the wind led to the bowl landing on the edge of the pitch and all the players were surprised.
- On 27 February 2023, while he was batting in the test match between New Zealand and England, he did not slide the bat into the crease after the ball was passed by baller Stokes’ to England wicketkeeper Ben Foakes. His bat and feet were in the air because of which he was bowled. His performance was criticized by many people who thought that he took the game casually and it is the first thing taught to any cricketer.
- Bracewell has played 17 ODI’s and 13 T20 internationals. His batting average in ODI’s is 46.2 and in T20 Internationals it’s 30.
