THURSDAY POLL (video): In-demand Gillespie commits future to his ‘dream job’ with county champions

COACH Jason Gillespie last night pledged his future to Yorkshire after helping them to their first County Championship for 13 years.
Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.
Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.

Gillespie is fast becoming one of the hottest coaching properties around amid speculation that an international job lies just around the corner for the popular Australian.

But the Yorkshire first-team boss – who was thought to have been sounded out by Australia’s new-look management last year only to reaffirm his commitment to the White Rose club – insisted he is still loving it at Yorkshire and has no plans to leave.

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The news comes as a major boost as Yorkshire look to create a dynasty of success – a dynasty Gillespie wants to be part of.

Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.
Yorkshire's Alex Lees is presented the 2014 LV= County Championship Breakthrough Player Award by his coach Jason Gillespie.

“I’m incredibly happy at Yorkshire,” said Gillespie, the former Australia fast bowler. “It’s a dream job, being first team coach of such a great club, an honour and a privilege.

“You never know how long you’re going to be in any role; no one does. But I’m not going anywhere in a hurry, I can assure you, and what I can say is that I’m quite ambitious, and a little bit greedy, about wanting to help Yorkshire win more trophies.

“We’ve had a taste of one trophy, and I would love to be part of some more going forward.

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“The bottom line is, I’ve seen how hard our players work, the effort they’ve put in to win the Championship, and I would love to be part of seeing them have more success and seeing us, as a club, develop more players.

“If opportunities do present themselves, I’ll obviously look at them at face value, but I’m very comfortable at Yorkshire and ambitious for the club. I’d love to help us have more success.”

Gillespie, 39, has played a key role in transforming Yorkshire during his three seasons in charge. In 2012, he helped them to Championship promotion and to a runners-up finish in the Twenty20 Cup.

Last year, he helped them to a second-placed finish in the Championship before going one better this summer.

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Since his arrival, Yorkshire have won/drawn 44 out of 47 Championship matches.

“It’s all down to the lads’ efforts,” said Gillespie, modestly.

“The players deserve all the credit for what they’ve achieved.

“They’ve played a positive brand of attacking cricket, and myself and the support staff have just tried to back them as much as we can. I’m incredibly proud of our lads.”

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Gillespie has formed a winning partnership with director of cricket Martyn Moxon, which has helped turn Yorkshire into a major force. It is inevitable that job offers may present themselves to the Australian, but there is no doubting Gillespie’s commitment to Yorkshire, or his deep love of the county itself.

“My family are very settled in Yorkshire,” he said. “My kids are going to a fantastic school, we’ve bought a house here, so it’s not as if we’re going anywhere in a hurry.

“My kids all speak with a Yorkshire accent, my daughter was born here, and we’ve got a real connection to the place.”

Yorkshire have awarded a benefit year to Rich Pyrah in 2015.

Yorkshire batsman Alex Lees has won the LV=Breakthrough Player Award. The 21-year-old is Yorkshire’s second-highest scorer in the Championship with 865 at 43.25.

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