Jason Gillespie, the former Australian fast bowler and current head coach of English county side Yorkshire, has turned down the opportunity to become the bowling coach of the Australian national team, citing family commitments and the stress of international travel as the reasons.
Gillespie’s services was sought for the role by former teammate and close friend Darren Lehmann with the latter keen to add the 41-year-old to his coaching setup, but his overture went unheard. Gillespie, in fact, claimed that there was never a concrete offer on the plate in the first place but added that he was not looking to move anyway.
It was Lehmann who started off the speculations after sounding out to an Adelaide radio station last month that he was keen to rope in Gillespie, who has enjoyed a successful stint with Yorkshire since being appointed at the helm in 2011, including leading the English giants to back-to-back County Championship titles in the past two seasons.
“There was always going to be speculation in light of [being named by Lehmann] and I can confirm he came to my place and we had a meal and a chat,” said Gillespie, as reported by The Guardian. “He brought up the fact there was a role coming up but I want to make it clear there was no job offer from Darren. He was merely gauging my interest.”
“I said: ‘Thanks for the chat,’ and: ‘I really appreciate it, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’ But I then informed him that I wasn’t going to put my name forward and that I wasn’t going to apply for a role with Cricket Australia.”
Family first for Gillespie
Gillespie, who stands seventh amongst Australia’s leading Test wicket-takers, has four young children based in the UK and he made it clear that he was not prepared to be away from his family for a lengthy interval, as of now.
“Do I want to be away for 250-plus nights a year? At this point in time in my life, I’m not prepared to be away from my family for that length of time,” he said. “I’m a young coach and I’m still learning a lot. I’m enjoying my roles and it’s not on the radar.”
Gillespie, who has been allowed two months off during the County off-season to coach the Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League, added that he was delighted with his assignments at hand and would consider a move only when the time was apt.
“I’m not looking too far ahead. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of cricket left this season and then with the Strikers at the end of the year. I’m enjoying my roles. You never rule anything out in professional sport, things do change and things can change. But at this point in time I’m very comfortable,” he said.
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