BBC SPORT | Special Events | 2001 | B and H Cup Final

Under his guidance the County Ground's trophy cabinet has become fully stocked. He has made changes on and off the field of play, inspiring confidence among a once-mediocre outfit.

Crucially Bracewell has instilled the sense of ambition that has brought Gloucestershire five one-day titles in the last two seasons and taken them to a record fifth successive Lord's final with the second defence of their Benson and Hedges Cup crown against Surrey on Saturday.

"I have made sure there is ambition, desire and a degree of honesty on and off the field in terms of their willingness to perform," Bracewell explained.

"The guys used to go through the motions of playing cricket, rather than wanting to succeed.

John Bracewell
Bracewell: Coaching success
"They used to be heavily reliant on Courtney Walsh to lead the team forward," he added, referring to the West Indian pace bowler, who played for Gloucestershire between 1984 and 1998 and was captain for his last five seasons.

"I have a different philosophy on what an overseas player should do - and that is to help players advance themselves, rather than doing it for them.

"Ian Harvey has done that. He's passed on his knowledge and the guys have become more positive about the way they're performing."

Yet, while Harvey's performances for Victoria and Gloucestershire were rewarded with inclusion in Australia's NatWest Series winning one-day team this summer, his county team-mates have not benefited from the same international recognition from the England selectors, to their coach's frustration.

"I have certainly expressed my disappointment about that," Bracewell added. "It has affected the players' performance and their ambition.

"Unless you have retired from international cricket, you have a desire to play for your country. You measure success on the number of internationals in the squad as well the trophies you win."

Courtney Walsh
Walsh: Overseas star
One trophy, however, Bracewell will not be defending this season is the Cheltenham and Gloucester Cup.

Having won the competition's predecessor, the NatWest Trophy, in 1999 and 2000, Gloucestershire fell to Durham in the quarter-finals - their first one-day defeat in 20 matches over three years.

The set-back came three days before the clash with Surrey. But Bracewell views it as an important part of the learning process.

"It can go two ways - either we carry the baggage or we dump it and use it as a motivational force," Bracewell said.

"It was a kick in the backside as Durham didn't beat us, we beat ourselves. We became complacent.

"Everyone who batted, should have won the game and they didn't. They left it for someone else to do.

"But they made a mistake and lost a match and now they have to move forward. If we can put it together in the B&H final, we're capable of winning again. If Surrey put it together they will be a very hard nut to crack."

Ian Harvey
Harvey: International recognition
Even if Gloucestershire defeat Adam Hollioake's side, Bracewell will not get ahead of himself.

At 42, the all-rounder from Auckland claims he is far from the finished product as a coach and has ruled himself out of the running for the job in charge of his home nation.

"I'm a young man learning his job. I believe you need to go through a cycle to find your strengths and weaknesses and, at the moment we're riding a crest of a wave.

"But you need to deal with the not-so-good times as well in international cricket," he stated.

"I will possibly make myself available for the New Zealand job in the future, but I haven't put a time scale on it."

In the meantime, he has committed himself to Gloucestershire and is concentrating on leading them to their sixth one-day title in a row.