Jason Gillespie named as assistant coach for Australia for T20I series against Lankans

With games coming thick and fast for Australia in recent times, Jason Gillespie and Justin Langer have been drafted into the coaching staff with Darren Lehmann and David Saker complaining of fatigue. Justin Langer was named as the coach of the side with Gillespie joining as a part of the backroom staff.

The former Australian bowler has been a part of the Yorkshire coaching staff and has earned worldwide accolades for his impressive coaching skills, something he would be hoping to bring in whilst coaching the Aussies. Jason Gillespie was certainly excited to be part of the coaching staff. The T20Is between Australia and Sri Lanka will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (17 February), Kardinia Park in Geelong (19 February) and the Adelaide Oval (22 February).

“I’m just buzzing to get this role it really is an exciting opportunity and I’m humbled to be thought of by Cricket Australia in this regard,” Gillespie said. “For me, the chance to be working with Justin Langer is terrific. Of course, he’s a friend and a former teammate, but he’s also someone who’s had success in this form of the game (with two BBL titles with Perth Scorchers) and if I can learn anything from him and his approach then that would be great.

“I’m there to support and hopefully play my part in achieving some positive results for us and that is something that is important because Australia hasn’t had the success any of us would like in Twenty20 cricket. A series like this is the ideal way for us to try and get better and refine our approach. With some players likely to be away in India it really will be a shop window for players from the BBL to showcase their skills and to show the selectors and the Australian public what they can do. It’s a chance for those selectors to see how, in the case of any new players, they deal with international cricket,” he added.

Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s performance chief was also pleased with the appointment. “It’s very pleasing that we’ve secured Jason’s services for the KFC Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka to work with Justin. Jason has significant experience as a coach around the world and with his skillset, we believe he and Justin will work well together.

“With Jason’s appointment alongside Justin, it means that not only will we have two terrific home-grown coaches to oversee the side but also that we have two individuals who will be coming off the sharp end of the BBL season. It means they’ll be immersed in the Twenty20 format ahead of the series which will hopefully help them to help us hit the ground running when the action gets underway.”