Bracken plays waiting game, says it’s out of his hands
Friday, March 7 2003 19:03 Hrs (IST)

Johannesburg: Australian left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken knows his World Cup fortunes depend on the cruel hand of fate striking down one of his colleagues over the next two weeks.

As a replacement for Jason Gillespie, who was forced out of the tournament because of a heel injury, the 25-year-old is very much a back-up bowler and only further mishaps will hand him an unexpected chance to shine.

"If I play I play, if I don't I don't. It's out of my hands and I've just got to enjoy myself," said Bracken. "I know most of the guys and it makes it a lot easier. People like Brett Lee I've grown with."

"I'll see what my role is. Injuries can happen - little niggles, little strains." Bracken has played in 11 One-day Internationals already but despite a respectable economy rate of four an over, he has just 14 wickets to his name.

The New South Wales (NSW) player admitted that his call to the team came out of the blue as he had just flown back to Sydney from Perth having played in Australia's domestic competition.

He then turned back to Perth and then onto Johannesburg. "Mum was doing my ironing and Dad was sorting out my luggage," Bracken told the BBC. "I found it hard to sleep and it was hard to drop off on the flight. This is such a big situation for me."

Copyright AFP 2001

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