Queensland in the semi-final of the Mercantile Mutual Cup, Bracken was selected in the New South Wales team to meet Victoria in the final in only his 5th List A game. Bracken was economical, taking 0/28 off his 10 overs however New South Wales still lost the final by 39 runs. After only playing one match in the 1999–00 season, the 2000–01 season proved to be a successful one for Bracken as he made his One Day International debut and helped New South Wales to win the Mercantile Mutual Cup. Bracken took 11 wickets at an average of 25.00, including figures of 2/43 in the final against Western Australia. He continued his good form into the 2001–02 season, helping New South Wales claim their second consecutive One Day title, this time over Queensland. Bracken took 18 wickets at 21.88 during the season, which included his best List A performance to date, as he took 5/38 against Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 2002–03 was another successful season for both Bracken and New South Wales, as the Blues recorded their third consecutive domestic One Day title and Bracken claimed 15 scalps at 23.66. Bracken was once again a leading performer in the final, taking 2/35 off his 10 overs as New South Wales cruised to a 7 wicket win. After three seasons of success, Bracken struggled for New South Wales in both the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons taking 3 wickets at 76.33 and 7 wickets at 44.71 respectively. International commitments left Bracken out of the side for a large majority of the 2005–06 One Day season, however he performed well in his limited appearances, claiming 5 wickets at 21.60. Once again, Bracken's international duties kept him out of a large majority of the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons and he took 3 wickets at 54.33 and 5 wickets at 37.80 respectively. International career Test cricket Bracken made his Test debut for Australia on 4 December 2003 against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as a replacement for the injured Glenn McGrath. In a drawn Test, Bracken had a respectable debut Test claiming 1/90 off 26 overs in the first innings and 2/12 off 4 overs in the second. Despite this, Bracken was dropped for Western Australian paceman Brad Williams for the Second Test at Adelaide. The selectors chose Bracken ahead of Andrew Bichel for the final two Tests and in a drawn series