Gillespie, Rogers, Haddin to coach Australia A in South Africa
Former Australian cricketers Jason Gillespie, Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin will take the coaching reins during Australia A’s tour of South Africa in July and August.
Gillespie, the Adelaide Strikers coach, will be the head coach and assisted by Rogers and Haddin for the tour comprising four-day and 50-over matches. Australia A will play two four-day matches against South Africa A and then takes part in a 50-over tri-series which also involves India A.
Pat Howard, Cricket Australia high performance manager, described the trio as “quality people”.
“Jason has substantial head coaching experience, both with the Adelaide Strikers and in an extremely successful stint as coach of Yorkshire in the England County Championship,” he said. “He also impressed as an assistant coach of the Australian T20 side earlier this year, so we look forward to seeing what he can achieve with this side.
“With Brad and Chris as assistant coaches, Jason will have plenty of support to call on,” he added. “Brad has also already been involved in the Australian cricket team’s coaching set-up, as an assistant for the tour of South Africa in 2016, while Chris has been involved at underage level, as an assistant coach for the Cricket Australia XI at the under-19 National Championships.”
Gillespie, said he was “thrilled” at the prospect of coaching Australia A. “While the squad has yet to be named, it will no doubt feature some of the country’s most talented players, and players challenging for the opportunity to play international cricket for Australia,” he said. “This tour will provide those players with the chance to push their claims for those opportunities, and to experience a really high standard of competition and life on the road.
“It’s a really exciting time to be involved in Australian cricket, and I can’t wait to join up with the squad and head to South Africa,” he added.
