×

Liam Plunkett: Jason Gillespie brought me back to playing for England

With Jason Gillespie moving back to Australia, Liam Plunkett thanks him for his contribution.

Liam Plunkett left Durham to join Yorkshire © Getty Images
Liam Plunkett left Durham to join Yorkshire © Getty Images

As former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie decides to leave Yorkshire after the current county season, England pacer and Yorkshire-man Liam Plunkett said Gillespie is the reason behind his getting back to the England national cricket team. After a struggle with his form, Plunkett managed get things back on track after working with Gillespie during his Yorkshire tenure. Plunkett impressed when called up for the ICC World T20 2016 to replace an injured Steven Finn and successfully overcame his bad patch to concrete his place in England’s limited-overs squad. Now, with Gillespie moving back to Australia, the bowler thanks him for his contribution. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Pakistan vs England 2016, 3rd ODI at Trent Bridge

Talking to espncricinfo.com, Plunkett said, “One of reasons I moved to Yorkshire is that he was a bowler himself and went through his ups and downs. One of the first net sessions I had with him was in the winter and I hit the side netting. I thought that was the end of my career at Yorkshire right then but he said don’t worry about it, it is November and he pretty much said he just wanted me to run up and bowl fast.

“At that time, he was what I needed. I was a bit raw, and struggling with my action. I thought it was all about technical. But it wasn’t – it was just about backing myself.”

He explained about his experience with the Australia pacer. “When I went there, that was what he picked up straightaway. He does other stuff with different people, but he knew what I wanted. He just said to me ‘bowl fast’, and he backed me. With that came confidence and performance. Whenever you have a bad spell he is always there patting you on the back and saying, ‘no worries, mate, you can change the game next spell’. I take my hat off to him, I owe him quite a bit.

“I’m obviously gutted – because he was good for me, and good for the team. It’s a tough decision that he’s made. But I want to thank him – he’s been great for me. He’s brought me back to playing for England. So I wish him the best, and look forward to catching up when I get back to Yorkshire,” he added.

trending this week