Jason Gillespie denies Australia bowling coach link

Barely a few days after being linked with the job of becoming Australia’s bowling coach, Jason Gillespie has denied even having spoken to CA. ‘The Age’, a prominent publication in Australia had reported earlier that Cricket Australia was in ‘advanced talks’ with Gillespie with regards to the role to be offered. At the moment, Andrew Griffith, the bowling coach of the New South Wales team has been roped in to serve as bowling coach for Australia on an interim basis. He will be joined by South African pace legend Allan Donald in a supporting capacity.

“Just to be absolutely clear, I have not spoken to CA about a role with the Australian cricket team,” Gillespie told foxsports.com.au on Wednesday (May 25). “Darren (Lehmann) mentioned my name in a radio interview a while back (in April) regarding me being involved, so it stands to reason that I will be linked to certain positions,” Gillespie added.

The 41-year old also reiterated that he was indeed very happy and content with the roles he is currently performing with Yorkshire and the Adelaide Strikers. “Bear in mind, I have not applied for any role with CA nor do I intend to,” he added. “I am currently very happy in my roles with Yorkshire CCC and the Adelaide Strikers.”

A spokesperson for Cricket Australia also confirmed that CA representative was still in conversation with a few candidates. However, at the moment, it seems as though nothing is finalized as yet.

“We’re speaking with a number of candidates but by no means is anything confirmed,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson told cricket.com.au on Tuesday. “We’ll look to make an announcement as soon as the process is complete, with the aim to have the coaching team finalized, at latest, by the start of the 2016-17 Australian summer.”

Andrew Griffith and Allan Donald will be assigned to the team on an interim basis until the completion of the Sri Lankan tour. Some of the candidates with their names in the hat include former Aussie pacers Ryan Harris and Andy Bichel. Reports also go on to suggest that former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond is also linked with the job.