Essex sign Doug Bracewell for 10-game County Championship spell

Essex have signed New Zealand allrounder Doug Bracewell as one of their overseas players for the upcoming County Championship. Bracewell replaces Will Sutherland, after the Australian was forced to withdraw earlier this week following the diagnosis of a back stress fracture.

Bracewell, who recently made a return to the New Zealand Test team after a seven-year gap, will join up with Essex after next week's opening fixture against Middlesex. He will stay with the club until the end of July, and could feature in as many as 10 Championship games.

"It's great that we've been able to secure Doug for a long stint of our County Championship season," Essex's head coach Anthony McGrath, said. "He is a player who has lots of international experience and will bolster our squad adding strong squad depth.

"He has recently featured for New Zealand in their Test series against Sri Lanka and was in excellent form for the Central Districts throughout their 2022-23 season, so we're excited to welcome him to the club."

Bracewell, 32, has been capped across all three formats by New Zealand and previously played county cricket with Northamptonshire.

"I'm really excited to be joining Essex for the 2023 red-ball campaign," Bracewell said. "I've had experience playing county cricket a few years ago and I can't wait to get over to Chelmsford and meet the lads. Essex have been a strong county for a long period of time and I'm looking forward to hopefully playing a big part in the team's success this season."