Bracewell coached Gloucestershire for five years from 1998

Gloucestershire want to bring their former coach John Bracewell back to the county when he steps down as coach of New Zealand next year.

Bracewell, who coached Gloucestershire from 1998-2003, is set to leave his role with the Kiwis in April 2009.

"We've been consistent in saying we want to bring him here as director of cricket," chief executive Tom Richardson told BBC Gloucestershire.

"At the moment we're planning on April of next year."

Gloucestershire enjoyed a run of one-day success under Bracewell, who has indicated he wants to return to county cricket in England.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said the early announcement of his departure means they can now begin the search for a replacement.

"It's to allow an unrushed search and recruitment process," he said.

"We can go around having discussions with coaches either within New Zealand or internationally, and to be able to do that in an open manner, rather than having to try and do it on the sly.

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"The preference is for the coach who can take this group of players and win lots of games. Whether that's a New Zealander or an international coach, they will just have to be decided on their merits."

One obvious candidate might be former captain John Wright, who has international coaching experience, having been in charge of India's national team from 2000-2005.

Wright, who played 82 Tests and 149 one-day internationals, is currently New Zealand Cricket's high-performance manager.