Chappell backs Gillespie for coach role
JASON Gillespie would make a better Australian cricket coach than Justin Langer, former captain Ian Chappell says.
Chappell has weighed into the debate over Darren Lehmann’s successor after Cricket Australia ( CA) rejected speculation ex- Test batsman Langer was set to be appointed.
Western Australia and Perth Scorchers coach Langer has previously filled in for Lehmann, who quit after the balltampering controversy in South Africa.
Langer has long been raised as a candidate alongside Sussex and Adelaide Strikers mentor Gillespie.
Chappell said Gillespie’s integrity as a player, along with the former Test bowler’s success at the helm of Yorkshire where he won two County championships, should make him the preferred candidate.
“He’s got a good understanding of cricket,” Chappell told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“When you talked to him while he was playing he was very interested in the history of the game.
“So I thought he played the game with a lot of integrity. He was obviously a very good bowler.
“He’s had a lot of success in that position in some different position. Yorkshire obviously, a hell of a lot of success there.” Integrity could be an important criterion given Australian cricket’s took a battering with the tampering scandal.
“I just find him a decent bloke,” Chappell said of Gillespie.