Dizzy kept busy as Papua guide
THIS time last year Jason Gillespie was embarking on a series of valedictory press conferences and events to mark the end of his hugely successful fiveyear stint as Yorkshire head coach.
Some 12 months on, and a damp day at Headingley has rarely seemed so distant.
Gillespie is in Darwin, the mercury is in the 30s and humidity levels are as high as Joe Root’s Test average. Instead of presiding over another County Championship win, Gillespie is watching Papua New Guinea attempt to build a decent first innings score in a two-day friendly match against a Northern Territory Invitational XI.
After reaching 230-9, that task wasn’t going according to plan, but Gillespie was still in upbeat mood. “I’ve agreed to be the interim head coach until October 8 and after that I’ll be a consultant for the next 12 months,” he says.
“The main sport in PNG is rugby league, it’s huge. Cricket has a place, though. The team are sitting 13th in the world – both the men’s and women’s sides – and what’s exciting is the country is one of very few associates to boast an entirely indigenous side. They’re all local players, which is fantastic.
“There’s certainly room to improve and move cricket on but the more games they play, the more recognition is coming their way. The game can really grow here.”
There can be few safer pairs of hands to place a side in, just ask the Yorkshire supporters and players who saw the club transformed under his leadership.
Gillespie took over the county in 2011 with the side languishing in Division Two. By the time he had left, they were within an ace of winning a hat-trick of County Championship titles. Even now, the man known as Dizzy is left spinning by what he achieved there.
“I loved my job with Yorkshire, I missed the people I worked with, I just loved it there,” he says. “From a family point of view, it was the right time to have a change but I certainly see myself getting back into county cricket in the future because I just absolutely love it.
“The day-to-day, being involved in the club and helping the club grow and improve, was very exciting and satisfying. I’ve made some wonderful friends at Yorkshire, the players, the coaching staff, the fans – there’s some wonderful people associated with the club. I felt it was time for us to take the family back to Australia, I felt the kids needed to be settled. These lifestyle family factors all played a part in the decision.
“It was a special time to be involved at Yorkshire and I was only a small part of that. We were lucky enough to have some success and we also helped a few of those guys achieve their ambition of playing for England and it’s those kinds of things that you take with you.”
One of those, Joe Root, will be captaining England against Gillespie’s home country this winter, lining up alongside Jonny Bairstow and, potentially, Gary Ballance in the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba.
Gillespie will have finished his stint with PNG by then and will be preparing for another Big Bash campaign with the Adelaide Strikers. He’ll also have one eye on a return to county cricket, potentially as a specialist T20 coach after the success of the likes of John Wright at Derbyshire this season.
“That would certainly be of interest,” he says. “I think it’s probably the way cricket is going and coming back and working in the T20 would be something I would love to do.”
This honorary Yorkshireman currently finds himself a long way from his spiritual home. He’s unlikely to be away for too long.