Adelaide is next stop as Gillespie’s stock rockets

The Yorkshire first-team coach has been lined up by the Australian Big Bash League franchise with the full blessing of the Headingley club.

Gillespie will run the Strikers’ Twenty20 side in addition to his current role at Yorkshire, who believe they will benefit from him developing his coaching experience in one of the world’s biggest T20 tournaments.

It is thought there is a clause in Gillespie’s contract which means that he could leave/pull out should an international position become available.

The Big Bash League runs for six weeks during the English winter and the two positions dovetail nicely.

However, with so much uncertainty surrounding English cricket, and particularly the future of head coach Peter Moores, it is by no means impossible that Gillespie’s plans could quickly change.

The former Australia fast bowler has made no secret of his desire to coach at the highest level, and he would be a strong contender to replace Moores should England opt to make a change.

England’s performance at the World Cup was woeful, and with Colin Graves, the outgoing Yorkshire chairman and the new chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board promising “some inquiries” should England underperform on their forthcoming Test tour to the West Indies, it merely underlines the precarious nature of Moores’s position.

Graves is a huge admirer of Gillespie having appointed him to the Yorkshire job in 2011 and watched him transform the club’s fortunes in tandem with director of cricket Martyn Moxon.

It is inconceivable that Graves would not heavily consider Gillespie if Moores was jettisoned, and although Gillespie is fully committed to Yorkshire and enjoys his job at Headingley immensely, he may have a decision to make in the not-too-distant future.

In the meantime, the 39-year-old will replace Darren Berry as Strikers’ coach in a link-up which, should it reach full consummation, may benefit Yorkshire in more ways than one.

Gillespie could potentially give some Yorkshire players exposure to the Big Bash, while there may be opportunities for some of the other Yorkshire coaches to take a sabbatical and shadow some of the Strikers’ staff as a means of sharing best practice.