Cut-throat vegan Gillespie’s plan to change Sussex
The bowler turned coach talks to Tim Wigmore about his hopes for the new Championship
Jason Gillespie laughs when it is put to him that he is a little different to the caricature of a snarling, carnivorous Australian fast bowler. “I have been called different all my life,” he says. In one way, though, Gillespie is utterly in keeping with the stereotype. “I’m pretty strong in my beliefs, I’m not afraid to voice them. If that’s a sin, well then I’m guilty, but I don’t apologise for that. I don’t expect people to agree with me. That’s their prerogative.”
Gillespie – twice a County Championship winner with Yorkshire; a Big Bash League winner with the Adelaide Strikers; and now Sussex’s head coach – is among the most highly regarded coaches in the world game. But his unstinting focus upon winning is married to a determination to advance the causes dearest to him.
In 1996, Gillespie became the first man with acknowledged Indigenous heritage to play for Australia, although this was only noted by the media four years later.
“Indigenous culture is very close to my heart,” he says. In June, Gillespie will coach a Sussex XI against an Aboriginal side, who are commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Aboriginal tour in 1868. “I was going to be involved with that in some capacity before I got offered the job here in Sussex, but I know they’re playing a game here, so that’ll be absolutely brilliant. I can’t wait.”
Since 2014, Gillespie has been vegan. “It was probably a year or so after my dad passed away, and I think naturally you just want to look after yourself.
“It started off as a health thing, and I’m very conscious of how we treat non-humans on our planet, and it’s something I’m pretty passionate about.
“The more research that one does, the simpler and clearer it is. We don’t treat animals very well – that’s just a fact. For a start, we eat them. And we just don’t treat them with any form of respect whatsoever.
“I find that ethically wrong. From a health point of view, it’s bad for you, and for our environment it’s just not sustainable.”
Gillespie frequently uses his Twitter account to draw attention to these issues. “Being a vegan and animal advocate, if someone asks me a question and wants to learn about it, then I’m happy to pass that on and have the discussion. I don’t get angry with people, I don’t get upset. Everyone’s different.
“I think as a general rule people know that we don’t treat animals particularly well on this Earth, and being a vegan is growing at a rapid rate.
“The penny’s dropping – it just might take longer for some people but that’s fine. Living in a non-vegan world, I’m just doing my bit.”
If such concerns seem a little out of kilter with cut-throat professional sport, this has not been Gillespie’s experience. “I’ve actually found it to be very open and accepting,” he reflects. “People go out of their way to help – like you go to county grounds, and there’s an option there for you to eat, and just small things like that. So I see progress. It’s a good sign.” Ultimately, Gillespie hopes that the cricket ball itself can be made from an alternative to leather.
At a time when the English county game feels more embattled than ever, there is something heartening about the sight of Gillespie huddled in a tracksuit at Hove. Depending on your perspective, it either reflects the enduring strength of county cricket or is an elegiac reminder of what was once the norm. Pairing coaches with clubs is scarcely more reliable than a dating app. Still, Gillespie and Sussex has the feel of a perfect match. Sussex have one of the most exciting young pace attacks in the country, and a coach ideally suited to harnessing them.
When first approached by Sussex, Gillespie thought that it was “a great job, but it’s not the right time for me”. But “discussion turned to ‘OK, you don’t have to be here in the winters, and arrangements can be made so that family can visit’.”
Gillespie led Yorkshire to Championship crowns in 2014 and 2015 before leaving after 2016 for family reasons. The Tykes had wanted Gillespie to be based in Leeds but Sussex require Gillespie to remain in Hove only from March to September, allowing him to spend the rest of the year in Australia, including in the Big Bash.
Ever since Andrew Strauss held discussions with Gillespie in 2015, it has become a ritual that, whenever the Australia or England coaching jobs are discussed, Gillespie’s name is mentioned. “I’ve had that question many times,” he says, with a certain wariness. “People have my number – if anyone gives me a call I’m happy to have a chat. But my focus is on my two roles.”
For all the excitement that surrounds Sussex’s recruitment of Gillespie, he does not consider the coach as important in cricket as, say, football. “Our job is to observe, and watch the game, ask good questions, and listen, really. I think listening is a very important skill to have as a coach,” he reflects.
“It’s telling players be true to yourself – play your game, trust that knowledge of all the hard work you’ve put in, all that prep – and then just go and play. You will entertain people. If you go out there with pride and passion, and people see that you are doing something you love and you’ve got a smile on your face, that’s going to rub off on people. I’m a big believer in that.”
Gillespie views himself as an enabler for players to think critically about their own games and learn from each other. “That’s what I really want – lads in cricket
‘It’s telling players be true to yourself, play your game, and you entertain people that way’
conversation about the game, sitting talking about what is going on out there. And for me, the more cricket conversations you can have, the more you learn.”
For all his deep thinking about the sport, Gillespie aims to simplify the game for his players. Where once he would plan training sessions meticulously, he now has more unstructured sessions.
“We want adaptable players. We don’t want adapted players. And I think if players are just being told what to do all the time, that puts them off thinking for themselves as much as they should. Out there on the cricket field, they’ve got to work it out for themselves. “We want to help players be the best they can be as a cricketer, help them be the best they can be and go out there and entertain,” he reflects.
“We’re not making any predictions, and we’re not focusing on results, we’re focusing on what we’re actually doing in the games: can we just keep chipping away and be better each time? And, most importantly, the big thing is what do we learn from in every training session, what can we learn from each and every day’s play throughout the season?”
Sussex’s players should enjoy finding out.