Cricket: Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie dismisses Australia speculation

Yorkshire's dual county championship-winning coach Jason Gillespie has confirmed he will be staying at Headingley rather than applying for a management role with his native Australia.
Yorkshire coach Jason GillespieYorkshire coach Jason Gillespie
Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie

The former seamer met his ex-international team-mate and current Australia coach Darren Lehmann socially this week, when the subject of a possible vacancy as a bowling specialist was mentioned.

But Gillespie insists no job offer was made by Cricket Australia, and that the following day he contacted Lehmann to inform him he would not be applying for one if it was.

“He mentioned that there was a role coming up with Australian cricket,” Gillespie said.

“I want to make it very clear there was no job offer from Darren - it was merely gauging interest.”

Gillespie, pictured, was strongly linked with England’s vacant head coach position last year - a job eventually given to his compatriot Trevor Bayliss, since when England have regained the Ashes in a titanic 2015 series.

As for his latest decision to stay in Leeds, he added: “I said thanks for the chat and I would get back to Darren the next day.

“I confirmed to him that I am not going to apply for a role with Cricket Australia - so we can end all the speculation right now.”

Gillespie explained that his preference to remain with Yorkshire is in part because he is unwilling to travel for long periods away from his family - as an international coach must.

He therefore appears set to continue dividing his time between Yorkshire and his existing role in charge of Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash domestic Twenty20 tournament.

“At this point in time in my life, I am not prepared to be away from my family for that length of time,” he said.

“So, it is not on the radar. I am not applying for any international cricket roles.”

“I’ve said it many times, I’m enjoying my roles,” the 41-year-old added.

““One thing that is very clear with any role at international level, you can’t avoid the travel. That’s just part and parcel.

“It’s well known that I’ve got a young family, and do I want to be away for 250 plus nights of the year.

“At this point in my life, I’m not prepared to be away from my family for that amount of time. For me, I’m a very young coach and still learning a lot. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, and I’m enjoying my roles at this moment in time.

“What you can’t hide from is that in international cricket, there’s a lot of travel. And is it fair to put my family under that sort of pressure and be away. I’ve got a wonderfully supportive wife, and my kids are a delight. I’ve actually put them through a lot. I moved to Zimbabwe when the kids were very young. I had a wonderful experienced there. Now I’m in England.

“I’ve had a great support from my family. It’s a wonderful support to have. As a family, you’ve got to do what you think’s right. First and foremost, I’m a father and a husband. Then there is some distance between that and my professional life as a cricket coach.”