Gillespie set to accept England job: reports

Having been reassured by Andrew Strauss that he won’t become the new cricket supremo’s “whipping boy”, Jason Gillespie is reportedly poised to accept the much-debated England coaching role in time for an Ashes showdown against his former team.

Newspaper reports in the UK and Australia have indicated Gillespie will agree to take on the job of England coach if it is offered to him, with News Limited papers claiming his appointment will be unveiled by the England and Wales Cricket Board next Tuesday.

That is despite Strauss, the ECB’s newly appointed Director of Cricket who is overseeing the appointment of Peter Moores’ replacement, saying yesterday that England “won’t rush” any decision given the team has already had three different coaches over the past 16 months.

Gillespie, the first acknowledged Indigenous Australian male to play Test cricket for his country, would also become the first Australian to coach England in the national men’s team’s 138-year history.

If the reports of Gillespie’s imminent appointment prove correct, he would be installed in the midst of England’s current two-Test and six limited-overs internationals series against New Zealand and six weeks prior to the opening Ashes Test that begins in Cardiff on July 8.

It is not a dissimilar time line to that which confronted Gillespie’s former Australia and South Australia teammate Darren Lehmann when he was chosen to replace sacked coach Mickey Arthur less than three weeks prior to the opening Ashes Test in the UK two years ago.

Australia subsequently lost that series 3-0.

Strauss, appointed to his new position earlier this month, was on hand at Lord’s for the summer’s opening Test yesterday where he presented England caps to Test debutants to Adam Lyth and Mark Wood before leaving to “catch a train”.

Image Id: ~/media/DE6A628F56534992A597DA32977C1847Strauss presents Mark Wood with his England cap // Getty Images

While his travel destination was not publicly revealed, it was understood he was heading to Leeds to meet with Gillespie who remains the coach of county side Yorkshire, a position that the former Australia fast bowler described this week as his “dream job”.

The Telegraph newspaper in the UK reported today that while no formal offer has been made to the 40-year-old, Gillespie had been “persuaded by Strauss to take the job” during yesterday’s meeting in which Giilespie’s misgivings about the level of autonomy afforded the new coach were addressed.

It had been earlier reported that the former quick was concerned when Strauss, at his maiden media conference as Director, unilaterally ruled out any imminent return for outspoken batsman Kevin Pietersen and installed Joe Root as Test vice-captain and Eoin Morgan as ODI and T20 skipper.

Interviewed by the BBC earlier this week, Gillespie had confirmed that he “would certainly take persuading” to leave Yorkshire where he guided his team from Division Two of the England County Championships to the Division One title last summer.

Image Id: ~/media/9E617AE55DD8489685DE1E7579FD9674Gillespie with his Yorkshire charges // Getty Images

Strauss spoke with the BBC and with Sky Sports during yesterday’s lunch break at Lord’s, at which stage England was struggling at 4-113 before recovering to a stumps score of 7-354, and dismissed suggestions he would be dictating terms to his new appointment.

"The new coach will be given the opportunity to do his job - he won't be a whipping boy for me,” Strauss told the BBC’s Test Match Special.

“I'm there to help and support, and look a bit more strategically and long term in our planning.

"The recruitment process is going pretty well.

"There are a lot of people interested in this job - it's one of the three big jobs in world cricket, with India and Australia coach.”

With Gillespie’s teammate Justin Langer advising Strauss he will not be a candidate, it is understood fellow Australians Tom Moody (former Sri Lanka and Western Australia coach) and Trevor Bayliss (currently with New South Wales and Kolkata Knight Riders) have been sounded out.

But Gillespie’s involvement in and knowledge of the contemporary England county scene gives him a unique advantage, while former India and South Africa coach Gary Kirsten has reportedly ruled himself out by indicating he did want the dual responsibility of the Test and ODI roles.

Strauss conceded that the imminent start of the five-Test Ashes series meant there was little time for a new coach to join the team and implement his philosophies, but in the wake of the recent removal of Andy Flower and Moores he claimed it was more important to find the most suitable candidate.

"There is a ticking clock ahead of the Ashes, but we won't rush it," he told the BBC.

“In an ideal world we'll have someone in place before that, but not if it's not the right man.

"The Ashes will be tough, but that doesn't mean we can't win.

"Home advantage will be important, the team has developed over the past 12 months and there is a lot to be positive about."