Doug Bracewell, the New Zealand fast bowler, was stood down from Central Districts’ HRV Cup gameagainst Northern Districts on Saturday after team management decided he had compromised his preparation by staying out too late. Bracewell had reportedly been out with some Otago players and was down “a couple of beers” when he returned to the team hotel in Hamilton early morning.
“Our guys decided that (Bracewell) had compromised his preparation to play and that he wouldn’t be playing that day,” Hugh Henderson, the Central Districts chief executive, was quoted as saying byFairfax. “We discovered that he’d got back to the team hotel in the early hours of the morning.”
This is not the first time Bracewell has been stood down from a game. Last year, he and Jesse Ryderwere dropped for New Zealand’s third ODI against South Africa in Auckland for drinking and getting into an argument at a hotel while rehabilitating from injury. Earlier this year, Bracewell missed the home Test series against England when he injured his foot while cleaning up glass after a party at his house.
New Zealand Cricket said it was “disappointed” with Bracewell’s behaviour. “We are disappointed to hear about Doug not following team protocol around preparation for the match, and understand and support the decision to leave him out.”
Henderson said it did not matter that Bracewell had represented the country. “It doesn’t really matter who’s done it,” he said. “It’s not the thing we want to have our guys doing. It’s not acceptable and you can’t expect to play when there’s other guys in the team who’ve done everything right.
“We ask and expect guys to be respectful of the guys that they play with. In this case we think Doug made a poor decision and that’s one of the first things we said – it doesn’t matter who you are. If you are the youngest guy in the side, we shouldn’t treat you any differently from a guy that’s played for New Zealand.”
