THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DIZZY
OUR NEW COLUMNIST JASON GILLESPIE ON JOFRA ARCHER, THE ENGLAND JOB, VEGANISM AND AUSSIE CHEATS
WOW! ARCHER’S GREAT ISN’T HE? THE KID’S A MATCH-WINNER. HE CHANGES GAMES. HE’S LIKE A KID IN A CANDY STORE.
Jason Gillespie is brimming with enthusiasm as he ponders the unique summer of cricket ahead from the perspective of an australian legend with a foot in the english camp.
‘a World Cup and an ashes in the same year? if you’re english or australian it doesn’t get any better than that,’ says the former fast bowler with the greatest of all australian teams and now head coach at sussex. ‘it’s just brilliant. i feel very privileged as an aussie working in the english game because i love county cricket.
‘This summer will be cricket overload. i can’t get enough of it and if i’m thinking that, imagine what the supporters are thinking. There’s a buzz of excitement.’
it is a typical display of exuberance from a man who took 259 Test wickets and made a double hundred as a nightwatchman before moving on to coach with huge success both in his native land and here, notably leading Yorkshire to two county titles.
The character known universally as Dizzy is talking all things cricket with
Sportsmail, including those twin World Cup and ashes peaks, a life in coaching that took him to the brink of the england job four years ago and, away from the game, his passion for veganism.
But first let us talk about a particularly hot prospect under his wing at Hove. a certain Jofra archer. ‘Wow!’ is Gillespie’s one-word reaction when the name of england’s new allrounder is brought up. ‘He’s great isn’t he? i don’t know if he’s going to play in the World Cup but i think the selectors did the right thing in not putting him in their provisional squad.
‘They knew they could always add him so this way they can have a look and get to know him. They will have a good idea pretty quickly of how good he is.
‘My personal view? i don’t think we’re going to see much of him at sussex from now on. The kid’s a match-winner. He changes games. it’s not his fault they’ve changed the qualification rules. He’s like a kid in a candy store. He just loves playing cricket.’
Then comes an admonishment for those within the england camp who appear to have been slow to recognise the value of the newcomer in their midst.
‘i really felt for Jofra when he said he didn’t want to tread on anyone’s toes,’ says Gillespie, who will be writing exclusively for Sportsmail this summer. ‘He should not have to feel like that when he joins up with england.
‘i know he’s got a lot of support from his team-mates at sussex. luke Wright put out a message of support on social media and that was a really good thing to do. all the boys feel the same.
‘Jof is a good kid and all he’s done is made his life here, he wants to play cricket and be the best he can be. He’s a fantastic bowler. Don’t underestimate his batting either. He works hard at it. He just wants to show people what he can do and that’s exciting.’
it is a display of the man-management for which Gillespie is famed. it is at the heart of the coaching methods that are now paying dividends in his second season on the south coast. ‘i love the psychology of how players tick and how they go about things,’ he says. ‘i keep coaching pretty simple. i’m not necessarily a great technical coach and i’ve never really coached specific skills because i’ve been a head coach my whole career.
‘i feel i’m a good man manager and i can read the mood of a room. i’ve got empathy with what players go through and i’m a big believer in clear, concise messages and everybody moving in the same direction. enjoyment is a big part of how i go about things.’
Those skills made him one of the favourites to become head coach of england when team director andrew strauss was looking to replace peter Moores in the aftermath of the last chastening World Cup. For a while it seemed everyone in the media was convinced Gillespie was the chosen one before
Strauss gave the job to Trevor Bayliss. Not that Gillespie ever believed the hype. ‘I never thought I was really close to the England job,’ he insists. ‘Andrew Strauss was very good throughout the process. ‘He told me I was one of a few names he had in mind. He was clear in saying he was chatting to a number of people about the role and would keep me in the loop. He handled it very well. ‘Then I was at Yorkshire preparing for a game against Somerset and there were cameras following me. All of a sudden I got a call from Straussy saying they’d entered into exclusive negotiations with someone else and thanked me for my time. ‘I said to our media man, who had been bombarded with inquiries about me, to get all the cameras together and I’d make a statement. So I did that and all the cameras and journalists simply packed up and went home. No more interest in me! I told the Yorkshire boys we could then just crack on and we had a laugh about it.’ The England job will be available again in September when Bayliss leaves after the Ashes. Will Dizzy be in the frame again? ‘In all honesty I genuinely don’t know,’ he says. ‘My focus is on Sussex and when I’m home it’s on the Adelaide Strikers in my other role. I want to see where Sussex can go. I want them to play the best cricket they can play, represent the county and have a bit of fun.’
Fun and enjoyment are integral to all Gillespie does in the game but there is a serious side to him and it emerges when he talks about his veganism. He is an advocate of a plant-based diet after undergoing a lifestyle change in tragic circumstances when his father Neil died of a heart attack five years ago.
‘My dad passed away and I tried to focus on living a bit more healthily and doing more exercise,’ says the very lean and fit-looking 44-year- old. ‘I ended up watching a documentary called
Earthlings and from that moment on I haven’t touched meat or dairy products. It had a massive impact on me.
‘I had never been a big animal lover. I used to go fishing and I’d been hunting in the past. But this changed my whole perspective. It gave me a moment of clarity. How we treat other species on our planet doesn’t sit well with me. It’s very wrong. It’s made me a much more compassionate person.’
There is seriousness, too, when Gillespie is asked about his compatriots Steve Smith and David Warner, who will soon be making their comebacks after the cheating scandal that ripped through the heart of the Aussie game. ‘They made really poor decisions but they’ve served their bans and there’s no doubt they are sorry for what happened,’ says Gillespie.
‘We’ve seen other players get done for ball-tampering and receive a much lesser punishment. These guys got treated like criminals. Yes, they did the wrong thing but I think we should move on now. I know that won’t happen straightaway in England because there will be some Barmy Army and other fans who will get stuck into them. The lads know that and will just have to suck it up and carry on.’
Talk of the disgraced Australians brings the topic back to the Ashes in August and Gillespie’s eyes light up. ‘These are two very good teams and the one who can adjust to the batting conditions the best will win,’ he says. ‘Both bowling line-ups will be strong. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are the masters of bowling in England. Then Australia have got a battery of fast bowlers. If James Pattinson is fit and firing he’s a game- changer. He bowls 90mph outswingers.
‘England will be slight favourites. They’re well led. It’s Joe Root’s team now. He’s a fine player and a fine man. But Australia have nothing to lose and with Justin Langer at the helm they will try to hang in there, take games deep and pounce when the moment’s right. It will be fascinating.’ Before that comes the World Cup carnival and now Dizzy, a World Cup winner in 2003, goes into overdrive. ‘England will rightly start as favourites for that too,’ he says. ‘ Managing expectations and the media and all the hype around this side will be key. They have to minimise distractions which is one big reason why they left Alex Hales out. England have decided it’s one more problem they don’t need so I can completely understand why they’ve done that.
‘England and India are fine teams. I’m liking the look of Australia too. They’re just coming into some form and they’ve been at the big dance before a few times. Afghanistan will be dangerous opponents, especially if conditions suit their slow bowlers. They will pose cheeky little challenges. I’d love to see them doing well, having Rashid Khan with me at Sussex and Adelaide. He’s a ripping kid.
‘If West Indies have their big boys available they could cause real trouble. Every time there’s a tournament people say New Zealand are the dark horses so I’m not going to say that. I just think they’re genuine contenders.
‘It’s quite an open World Cup actually. That’s why I’m so looking forward to it. I think there will be shock results. Exciting times.’
And Jason Gillespie for one cannot wait for it all to start.
SMITH AND WARNER GOT TREATED LIKE CRIMINALS. YES THEY DID THE WRONG THING BUT WE SHOULD MOVE ON NOW.