Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie will join the England Lions coaching staff temporarily, spending 12 days with the red-ball squad during their upcoming tour of Australia that is scheduled to begin from February 8. Gillespie and Jason Kerr will join Lions' head coach Richard's Dawson's to prepare for three matches. "I'm excited by the opportunity to work with Richard Dawson, his support staff and all the players," Gillespie said on Thursday (February 6). "It's a great chance to listen and learn from different people and I hope that I can add some value to the team from my own cricket experiences. Richard is a great friend of mine as someone I played and coached with at Yorkshire and played against for Australia, so I know what an excellent person and leader he is. It's going to be great fun and a really rewarding experience."
This will be a great opportunity for our young pace bowlers to learn from one of the best in the business," ECB performance director Mo Bobat said of Gillespie who has over 400 international wickets. "Jason was not only a quality bowler but is also an excellent coach with vast experience who will no doubt leave a lasting impression on the squad. "Learning how to impact games with the ball in Australian conditions is a great challenge and having Jason on hand to help our players with this is of huge value. It will no doubt stand them in good stead for future Ashes success. I'm encouraging the whole squad and management team to make the most of Jason's time with us, to tap into his experience and local knowledge to improve themselves as players and coaches over the coming weeks."
The Lions will play their first match against Cricket Australia XI starting on 15 February in Hobart. They will then face Australia A in a pink-ball day-night game at the MCG before their final game of the tour against New South Wales XI. Gillespie is currently serving as the head coach of English county Sussex.
