Jason Gillespie is doing what he has done many times before, and plotting England’s demise.
Previously, it was as a whippy and waspish fast bowler for Australia who ended up on the winning side in four of his five Ashes series. Now, it’s as coach of Pakistan. The passion remains undimmed.
Overseas coaches never need an excuse to blunt England, but Gillespie – who took over Pakistan’s Test team in April – has more than one motive.
Above all, he wants to end his team’s dreadful run of 10 home Tests without a win stretching back to February 2021, a sequence that has led to questions ranging from board-level governance to dressing-room disharmony.
But it’s also clear he would rather England didn’t build up a head of steam before they attempt to regain the urn in Australia in a little over 12 months’ time. And it’s fair to say he has been studying his opponents closely.
Pakistan’s cricket head coach Jason Gillespie has been preparing his side for their three-match Test against England
Gillespie (left) has been imparting his own test knowledge with Pakistan’s bowlers, such as Shaheen Shah Afridi (right)
‘They’ll attack with the bat and defend with the ball,’ he tells Mail Sport on the eve of today’s first Test in Multan. ‘That’s the basic template they’ll use.
‘Sure, they’ll look to attack early with the ball, but then we suspect they could get defensive and be a bit boring, with maybe bursts of something really out there and random.
‘From a batting perspective, you don’t need to be Einstein to work out England’s approach. We’ve identified opportunities where we think we can have an impact.’
The 49-year-old Gillespie, who did well to take as many as 259 wickets in 71 Tests in an era when Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne threatened to hoover up everything themselves, has also done a deep dive into the details of England’s 3–0 win here two years ago.
Jason Gillespie played Test cricket for Australia between 1996 and 2006
The fast bowler took 259 Test wickets in 71 matches for Australia over a ten-year period
‘We’re really interested to see how they will replace Jimmy Anderson,’ he says, before showing off his homework. ‘In two Tests last time, he bowled 67 overs, took eight wickets and only went at two an over. He played that dual role, like a defensive spinner but also an attacking seamer.
‘They’ve got these exciting young seamers, but other than Chris Woakes, no one’s got anywhere near the experience of Jimmy Anderson to be able to do both roles.
‘Our suspicion is that their other bowlers – whether it’s Gus Atkinson or Brydon Carse – will be used in short bursts and attacking roles.
‘Woakesy can do some of the donkey work, so some of those Anderson overs will be taken up by him and Jack Leach, who can attack and defend.’
Jason Gillespie believes England will use bowlers Brydon Carse (left) and Gus Atkinson (right) in ‘short bursts’ and ‘attacking roles’
Gillespie noted Chris Woakes blistering form and believes he’ll be central to England’s plans
The 49-year-old Australian questioned how England will fill the Anderson-sized holed in their line-up of bowling talent
On the day Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood admitted England’s Bazballers had influenced the way Test cricket is played all round the world, Gillespie has tried to impress on his team a philosophy of their own, and he has borrowed his main idea from rugby – a brave idea in a country ranked 94th in the sport out of 113.
‘What’s impressed people with England is that you see a united group of people,’ he says. ‘From the outside, it looks like everyone is on exactly the same page: we’ll just play, we’ve got each other’s back – win, lose or draw. Regardless of what the strategy is, that’s the utopia, with everyone buying in.
‘That’s something Shan and I have spoken a lot about – problem-solving and adapting and thinking clearly and making good decisions. We’ve used a rugby term: ‘Go for the gap.’
‘I’m not sure the players quite understood when we used it at first. But we explained, for example, if as a batter you’re in a position where you feel you can take a bowler down, we trust you to do it. You’ll be backed and supported. It is as simple as that. ‘Go for the gap’ sounds nice, doesn’t it?’
Gillespie is hoping, too, for assistance of a more elemental kind: the furnace-like heat of a central-Pakistani autumn.
‘There’s been a lot of talk about home advantage,’ he says. ‘I still maintain our home advantage is we’re playing in Pakistan in challenging conditions, particularly for the English coming out from a cold, wet summer, in 40-degree heat. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage.’
He and Masood have also stressed their preference for pitches that encourage an ‘even contest between bat and ball’, leading to speculation that the surface for today’s game would be greener than usual.
‘It’s about rewarding performance, with bat or ball,’ he says. ‘We don’t want snakepits that are just so bowler-friendly, whether it be seam or spin, and conversely we don’t want 700 plays 600. We need to find that balance.’
Pakistan captain Shan Masood (left) has worked closely with Gillespie to turn around their Test form in recent months
Masood (right) will remember Pakistan last three-test series with England back in 2022, which ended in defeat for his team
And what about England’s chances of winning in Australia next winter for the first time in 15 years after three successive thrashings down under?
‘They’ve got as a good a chance as any,’ says Gillespie. ‘They just have to identify what their best line-up is and what their best attack is. Taking 20 wickets in Australia is key…’
Understandably, perhaps, he turns the conversation back to England against Pakistan. Gillespie may have green and gold in his veins, but it’s the green and white of his adopted nation that concerns him now. And excitement levels are through the roof.
‘Our boys are jumping out of their skin,’ he says. ‘The whole country is so excited to have a bit Test-playing country like England play a three-Test series here. It’s a big deal.’
Don’t, however, be fooled. If Gillespie spots a gap, he’ll be urging his team to go for it. Pakistan are ready for revenge.
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