Nathan Bracken is a professional Australian cricketer, who was born on September 12, 1977 in Penrith, New South Wales. This left-arm fast-medium bowler, who is nicknamed “Bracks” and “Andy G”, can swing the ball in both the ways and bats right-handed. Nathan Bracken was educated at the Faulconbridge Primary and Springwood High School in New South Wales and idolizes the legendary Australian cricketer, Don Bradman. He is married to Haley Rich and has a child named Chase.
Nathan Bracken made his first international Test appearance for Australia against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on December 4, 2003 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. He came in the place of the injured Glenn McGrath and dismissed Virender Sehwag to take his maiden Test wicket. He made his presence felt in the final two tests of the series, taking 6 wickets at an average of 58.50.
Two years later Nathan Bracken was back in the Australian team that played against the West Indies for the 2005-06 Frank Worrell Trophy. He proved himself by giving an all-round performance in the very first match of the series by scoring 37 off 51 balls in Australia’s first innings and taking 4/48 off 16 overs in the West Indians' second innings. His scalps included top batsmen of the West Indies side such as, Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul in what was both his best Test batting and bowling performances, as of September 2008.
Nathan Bracken made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Australia against the West Indies on January 11, 2001 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He was also a key member of the Australian squad that clinched the Cricket World Cup in both 2003 and 2007. Nathan Bracken was a part of the team that lifted the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy for the 2006 season. He gave a splendid performance against Sri Lanka in February 2008, returning with match figures of 5/47 off 8.3 overs to record his best bowling statistics in ODI cricket.
Nathan Bracken made his International Twenty-20 debut against South Africa in January 2006 and his first dismissal at this level was that of South African cricketer Boeta Dippenaar.
Nathan Bracken made his first-class debut for New South Wales in October 1998 against Queensland. He played a crucial role in helping his team win the Pura Cup (2004-05, 2007-08) and was a part of the team that lifted the Australian One Day Domestic Cup in the 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.
Nathan Bracken, who created history by securing the maximum number of wickets by an Australian left-arm pace bowler in ODI cricket, has won several awards for his performance. This includes the 2001 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year title, three ODI and one T-20 International Man of the Match awards in addition to the Man of the Series award in the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank Series. Nathan Bracken is on par with Shaun Pollock as the leading wicket taker in T-20 Internationals and has been ranked by the ICC as the best bowler in ODI cricket, as of September 2008.
Nathan Bracken was signed by the Bangalore Royal Challengers team captained by Rahul Dravid for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.
Apart from playing cricket, Nathan Bracken loves to play video games and watch movies, his favourite being “The Shawshank Redemption”. He also likes listening to “Green Day” and is a fan of the American basketball player, Michael Jordan.
