'Panicked' Aussies must keep faith: Gillespie

One of the world's most in-demand cricket coaches has said Australia's current batting malaise in Sri Lanka is not a technical issue, but a mental one.

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, who has been courted for coaching vacancies around the globe at national and domestic level, says Australia's batsmen "panicked" and needed to show more faith in their planning.

The former Aussie paceman says the tourists are "not as bad" as their performances in the first two Tests might suggest.

"In my opinion, they haven't played to their potential against the Sri Lankan spinners because they're not as bad as what they've shown there (in the first two Tests)," Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

"It just looks like they've just panicked a little bit and all of a sudden abandoned all their game plans on how to face the Sri Lankan spinners in the face when a bit of pressure has been put on."

Australia's extensive preparation for the tour left no stone unturned, with coach Darren Lehmann and chief selector Rod Marsh have conceded they don't know what more could be done to have better prepared the squad for the conditions in Sri Lanka.

But having watched the first two Tests from England, Gillespie says it may be more a matter of belief for the tourists.

"It looks to me that they've have had a game-plan but once there was a bit of pressure on, they've changed their plans or didn't trust their plans against the spinners, so they changed them.

"For me, I think they need to trust themselves, back themselves, back their skills and the training they've done.

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"It's been widely acknowledged that they've prepared well for this tour and so they should trust that and believe in that.

"You don't lose your skills overnight. They are very good players."

Gillespie, who has coached Yorkshire to back-to-back titles in the County Championship, also offered some more technical advice.

"Your contact points against spin are really important. You've either get right out there before it spins or you get back and let the ball finish spinning.

"The key on the subcontinent is to either get right forward or get right back.

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You need to go with a real positive attitude – that doesn't mean going out there slogging and trying to hit every ball for six – it means having good intent to play each ball on its merits.

"If (Australia) do that, they'll account for themselves much better than they have.

"They're much better players than they've shown on this tour so far, they are far better.

"But they have to trust that and believe that. They have to be clear with how they're tackling the Sri Lankan slow bowlers."

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Gillespie, who claimed a total of 10 wickets during Australia's 2004 tour of Sri Lanka, was full of praise for Australia's pacemen, particularly Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood who have taken a combined 24 scalps in Kandy and Galle.

And he has backed Nathan Lyon to bounce back after two below-par Tests from the off-spinner, who has nine wickets at 30.88 for the series to date.

"I think the quicks have been excellent. The spinners, for one reason or another haven't quite got it right," Gillespie said.

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"It's hard to be critical of Jon Holland who was playing in his first Test.

"(Lyon) just needs to take that responsibility and be ruthless with his stock ball and makes sure he bowls that well.

"Also using his variations well, mixing up his pace and getting that right."

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