Gillespie and Gale promise fearless approach

YORKSHIRE captain Andrew Gale believes Jason Gillespie will bring a “winner’s mentality” to Headingley Carnegie that will help the club in their quest for silverware.

Gale said the champion’s mindset of the former Australia fast bowler – a member of the all-conquering Test teams of Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting – could only benefit Yorkshire following Gillespie’s appointment as first-team coach.

Gillespie took 259 wickets in 71 Tests as Australia swept all before them in the nineties and noughties, playing a key role in one of the greatest sides to have played the game.

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And Gale hopes the magic will wear off at Yorkshire, who have gone almost a decade without a trophy.

“‘Dizzy’ Gillespie is a winner,” said Gale.

“He’s got that winner’s mentality and I don’t think you can put a price on that attribute.

“A lot of the guys involved in our first team and a lot of the coaching staff have never really won that much.

“Michael Vaughan always says to me that winning is a mentality, and the great teams know how to keep winning trophies.

“‘Dizzy’ has been there, done it and bought the T-shirt.

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“He’s played in arguably one of the best teams the world has seen, so to have him as first-team coach is terrific.

“He’s a positive guy and another fresh face.

“I’ve every confidence he can help take us forward.”

Gale and Gillespie will run the first XI following a radical overhaul of Yorkshire’s coaching set-up.

Martyn Moxon, who led the first team in tandem with Gale last season, will adopt more of a supervisory role, running the rule over the club’s various teams and managing and co-ordinating the various coaches.

Moxon will oversee Gillespie, new second XI coach Paul Farbrace and director of cricket development Ian Dews.

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It will be Gale and Gillespie who pick the first team – with input from Moxon as and when required.

Gale, 27, is promising “a fearless brand of cricket” and feels he and Gillespie will establish a good rapport.

The pair were team-mates in 2006 and 2007, when Gillespie played for Yorkshire as an overseas player.

“I got on really well with ‘Dizzy’ when he was last at the club,” said Gale.

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“He’s got that Australian mentality to go out there and play as hard as you can, and I’d like to think I play the game in a similar way.

“We’ve got a lot in common and I’m sure that the captain/coach relationship will grow.

“He’s a fearless sort of guy who doesn’t get nervous, he likes a challenge and tackles things with both hands.

“He’s a real positive guy, he’s got an aura about him and he’s a genuinely nice bloke as well.

“He’s a real people person who cares about the individual.

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“‘Dizzy’s’ not frightened to keep people in check, but he also likes to leave them to their own devices as much as possible and encourages them to look after themselves.”

Gale said Yorkshire had drawn a line under last summer, when they followed the high-promise of 2010 with the unexpected low of County Championship relegation.

They also failed to shine in the one-day competitions in what served as a wake-up call for all concerned.

“Last season’s gone now,” he stressed.

“The lads had some time away, I had some time away myself – I went on holiday and did a charity bike ride – and it just cleared my mind of the various things.

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“I probably held myself responsible for what happened, as you do as captain of the team.

“But we’ve drawn a line under what happened and there’s a real buzz around the lads again.”

With Australian batsman Phil Jaques having signed as overseas player for the next two years, Gale is optimistic Yorkshire can bounce back at the first attempt.

But he is also realistic about his team’s chances.

“I’d like to think we can bounce back next season, but there’s no God-given right,” he added.

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“It’s taken the likes of Surrey a while to get back up, but I certainly think we have the talent to win promotion.

“We haven’t lost many players in particular from the first team, and we’ve made a cracking addition in the form of Phil Jaques.

“On paper, we’re a very good side, but we know that professional sport is not played on paper.”

Although Gale has moved on from last summer, he still wonders how Yorkshire contrived to go down.

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With so many skilled players, it was a significant surprise the team were relegated.

“How we went down last season, I don’t know,” he said. “After such a successful season in 2010, I honestly thought we would challenge for a trophy, but I couldn’t have been further off the mark.

“We often got into situations of dominance but we threw them away, and in that First Division, if you give a glimpse to the opposition, they’ll take it with both hands with the quality and experience that is around.

“We just weren’t consistent enough. It was one of those seasons when we kept taking one step forward and two steps back, and we were left scratching our heads thinking, ‘Why, why, why?’

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“But I can’t knock the lads for their effort and commitment; the work ethic was great right to the end of the season and the team still had a great togetherness about them.

“It was just the performances that weren’t there at times.”

Now Gale is fully focused on the challenge ahead.

“It’s all about doing our processes right from now on,” he insisted.

“I’ve said to the lads that the work for next season starts now.

“We want to make sure we’re as fit as we possibly can be and we’ll be starting back with our cricket in December and January and making sure that we’re honing our skills.

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“There’s real cause for optimism with the new appointments we’ve made, and I know the lads are very excited about the coming year.”

Yorkshire’s coaching set-up at a glance

MARTYN MOXON: The former Yorkshire and England batsman is now “director of cricket” as opposed to “director of professional cricket”, marking a significant shift in his responsibilities.Moxon will still be running the show but in the same way that a director of football oversees a football manager and his coaching staff. Moxon, 51, will manage coaches Jason Gillespie, Paul Farbrace and Ian Dews and divide his time between the first team, the second team and Yorkshire’s Academy and age-group sides.

JASON GILLESPIE: Will run the first XI on a day-to-day basis with captain Andrew Gale. The pair will have major responsibility for team selection, with input from Moxon as and when required. Gillespie, 36, is one of the game’s brightest up-and-coming coaches and is currently in charge of Zimbabwe franchise MidWest Rhinos. He will link up with Yorkshire in March but plans to return to Headingley for a brief time next month to familiarise himself with the players and staff.

PAUL FARBRACE: The former Kent and Sri Lanka coach will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the second team. Farbrace, 44, left his role as director of cricket at Kent at the end of last summer and is keen to get back to the bread-and-butter of coaching players. It was what he most enjoyed during his time as assistant coach with Sri Lanka, and he will be charged with the task of helping bring on Yorkshire’s talented crop of youngsters.

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IAN DEWS: The only member of the Yorkshire coaching staff under Moxon to retain his job following the departures of Craig White, Steve Oldham, Kevin Sharp and John Blain. Formerly director of cricket operations, Dews, 47, now has the title of director of cricket development. He will have responsibility for the Academy and age-group sides to ensure Yorkshire maintain their healthy reputation for producing a quality production line.

RICHARD DAMMS: Yorkshire’s new development manager will support Ian Dews in the development of future Yorkshire cricketers Damms, 40, has been involved with the county’s Academy and age-group teams for a number of years and will effectively work as Dews’s assistant. He has long had the desire to pursue a dream of coaching full-time and he hopes to continue the good work undertaken within the widely-respected Yorkshire youth system.