Pak vs Eng – Jason Gillespie ‘sitting on the fence’ as Pakistan go in at short notice

“The PCB came out and made changes after that Test match,” said Gillespie before the third Test. “It was decided that a new team of selectors came in to make decisions. I was not involved in the decision-making, I was just there. Now I am the coach of the game day strategy. I just keep myself out of things now and focus on the players and preparing them for cricket.”

The brief is markedly different from the one Gillespie was given when he was offered the role earlier this year. At the time, he told ESPNcricinfo that he had “really good” discussions with the board and the chairman to make sure “we are moving in the right direction in the short, medium and long term”.

When asked about the team’s formation, Gillespie reiterated this point. “It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I’m not a picker anymore, I’m probably not a person to ask.” Cast in a more focused role than his initial job description suggested, he has shown that he understands his unusual situation. “I’m getting leftovers from my **** sitting on the phone here,” he said with a laugh.

But with a potential series win against England on the line, the importance of the final Test was not lost on Gillespie. In his short stint as a coach, he has developed a good relationship with several players in the team, greatly respecting their qualities as people and their cricketing talent.

“For the past few years, Pakistan’s Test cricket has not been where we would like it to be. Any win is great, and any series win is great. Just coming into this situation, as a coach, I am very protective of the players. .They are the ones who come out to represent their country I feel like there’s a father coming out of me and I want to protect all the boys from outside noise and anything.”

When England responded, they made little work of the spinners in the first 40 overs, and remained poised to take a crucial first innings lead when they were put on 211 for 2. pace, scored runs, and caused a collapse that helped Pakistan take a 75-run deficit.

“There are a lot of things you can’t control in professional sports,” Gillespie said. “To be able to park that and not focus on that is a skill within you. Focusing on what we can control, the right things at the right times, and staying calm when everything happens. The way England played, they look to create things all the time and the way we want to fight them is to stay calm and not get frustrated I thought that we did that well in the last Test match I was very proud of the boys.

“You communicate with your players regularly, you talk about their games and how we can help them improve as cricketers and people. I’m very lucky, I’ve got a support staff who have built a really good relationship with our players and the players. It will focus on certain coaches sometimes. But if you all work as a team, that’s the most important thing. “