New Zealand coach John Bracewell confirmed he has held talks with Gloucestershire about a possible return to the Gladiators for the 2009 campaign.

Bracewell admitted that he had spoken with Gloucestershire chief executive Tom Richardson about going back to the west country club when his Kiwi contract expires in April.

He had a successful spell in charge of Gloucestershire at the start of the decade when they won a host of one-day trophies.

Now Bracewell is keen for a return to county cricket and confirmed there is "no possibility" of him extending his stay with the Black Caps.

Bracewell told PA Sport: "Myself and Tom (Richardson) are in discussions at the moment.

"There are several options available in world cricket at the moment within the ICL and IPL and you don't know where Twenty20 is going to be within the next nine months.

"But Gloucestershire is a positive option because I enjoyed the environment of it so much.

"It is one option and it is a good one. I didn't say it is the only option but it is one of several and, at this stage, it's a leader.

"I'm in contact with Tom a lot and he is fully aware of where I'm at and we are fully communicating."

Bracewell continued: "I really enjoyed the environment of cricket in this country. I enjoyed the opportunity to be able to develop guys over a period of time and see them grow.

"The difference between that and international cricket is that you never get the same sort of chance. You get them off the field, you patch them up and you've got to get them back into battle.

"All the coaching you are doing is about 'what can I do today to get you over today?'

"The thing I really loved about cricket over here is that you actually had quality time to be able to coach and develop guys through coaching itself as opposed to just patching things up and getting guys back on the field.

"That is international as opposed to domestic cricket."

Bracewell added: "There is no possibility of staying on with New Zealand. You just get worn out by the other stuff other than coaching.

"The people themselves and the players are great. But you just can't get a piece of them all the time so it makes it hard."

More news from SportingLife.com

Live scorecards from SportingLife.com