Sports Room | Najeeb-ul-Husnain | ARY News | 12th July 2024
#sportsroom #pakistanteam #JasonGillespie #RedBallcoach
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NewsTranscript
00:00Assalam-o-Alaikum, hello and welcome to Sports Room, I am your host Najeeb Ul Hasan and we
00:16have a very special guest today in Sports Room, former fastballer of Australia and newly
00:21appointed Red Ball Head Coach of Pakistan, Jason Gillespie.
00:25Jason, welcome to the show.
00:27Thank you very much, Ajay.
00:28Brings back a lot of memories, you having that stylish long hair, steaming in with your
00:33fierce deliveries.
00:35So excited to have you in Pakistan.
00:36Oh, thank you.
00:37My hair's a little bit shorter and a little bit lighter now, so it's slightly different.
00:41But look, fantastic to be here in Pakistan, I've been made to feel very welcome, it's
00:45been fantastic.
00:46Have you tried our food?
00:48Not too spicy for you?
00:49A little bit of spice at times, I'm a vegetarian, so I've been trying a lot of wonderful Pakistani
00:56vegetarian dishes, they've been delightful, but yeah, have to keep the spice to a minimum.
01:01Let's get down to business and start with your coaching career.
01:05And I've done my research, you started from Zimbabwe, a small town called Kwai Kwai?
01:10It was my first opportunity, you know, I'd played some cricket in India in the ICL and
01:17Heath Streak, the late Heath Streak was a good mate of mine and, you know, we played
01:22cricket together and I think it was about six months or a year after we played and I
01:27got an email from him saying, are you still interested in maybe trying some coaching?
01:35And because the new system in Zimbabwe has reset the domestic structure and there's a
01:42team that, you know, we think that you could have an involvement with and so it just went
01:48from there really.
01:49It was my first taste of, you know, being a full-time coach.
01:52From Kwai Kwai, Zimbabwe to Yorkshire.
01:56Yes.
01:57And I think that was the highlight of your coaching career, two championship titles,
02:02five seasons?
02:03Yeah, yeah, I had five seasons there, it was a wonderful experience, obviously I'd played
02:07cricket for Yorkshire, so I knew the place and knew quite a few people there.
02:14It was a great experience, it was a bit of an opportunity for a reset, they'd been demoted
02:19to Division Two, the goal was to get back into Division One and then challenge for the
02:24county title, so, you know, it probably changed the way we went about playing the game.
02:31It was a very positive style of play, a bit of a risk versus reward, willing to lose a
02:39game in order to try and win, and fortunately we won a lot of games, which helps, but the
02:46key to all that was having the buy-in from the captain, the director of cricket, and
02:50the players, and the players were fantastic.
02:53Again, coaching staff, I learnt a lot, again, about managing people, learnt a lot about
02:58the game of cricket, got to work with some wonderful players, you know, guys that went
03:02on to play and have had significant careers for England, and overseas players that have
03:09gone on and had significant careers for their countries, so just a rich and wonderful experience.
03:16Is this because you like challenges in life, you accepted this role in Pakistan?
03:21I think any coach loves an opportunity to challenge themselves and try and help a team
03:28get better and improve, and that's certainly how I see it, I've been very fortunate to
03:34coach in many places around the world, but this is my first full-time, I suppose, international
03:42coaching gig, being involved in test cricket again for the first time since I've played
03:50is pretty exciting, and really looking forward to that.
03:54Pakistan are obviously a very good test site, so to be able to come here and help the team
04:02get better and play some good cricket, that's what I'm here for, and hopefully I can impart
04:07some of my knowledge, and I'm hoping to learn as much as I can from the players and from
04:13our coaches and the people here in Pakistan, I want to learn a lot about how Pakistan players
04:21want to go about and play their cricket, so that's exciting for me.
04:24When I told a few friends and my people that I'm coming for your interview, this is the
04:29question of the people, are you going to bring the Australian mindset or improve the brand
04:35of cricket we play?
04:37That's a good question, and people assume that just because I'm from another country,
04:42I'm from Australia, I'm going to impart the Australian way on Pakistan cricket.
04:49My goal is for Pakistan to play the Pakistan way and be authentic to how Pakistan players
04:57want to go about it.
04:59If there's some things from Australian cricket that come in and the players and the coaches
05:05feel that can add value, then yeah, we may implement that, but ultimately I want to ask
05:12the players how do they want to play, and how they want to go about their work, and
05:17just have some really good discussions about that style of play, because I think what I
05:25want ideally, I want people to actually look at Pakistan from the outside and go, yes,
05:30that's clearly how they are going about playing their game.
05:33We see other countries around the world, you know exactly how they are going about
05:36their style of play, and that's my goal for Pakistan, is to have a clearly defined way
05:44of playing, but also be adaptable and be able to problem solve in the moment, because that's
05:52a real...
05:53That's really important.
05:55I think that's really important in test cricket.
05:57You spoke about Australia, and you are the right person to answer this question.
06:02Pakistan team is a good team, but what is the reason of our failure in Australia for
06:09last 20 years?
06:10Let's be honest, not many teams win in Australia.
06:13It's not a common thing to happen.
06:16India has been doing it, West Indies just did it.
06:20Yeah, they're one-off tests.
06:22No, I'm talking about one test, we're not winning it.
06:25Look, I get it, I get it, and it's not an easy place to win.
06:28I think Pakistan had their moments over the years.
06:32I know in Melbourne, MCG, the test match in December last year, there were certainly moments
06:39where Pakistan could have driven the game and just probably didn't take the opportunities
06:43when they were presented.
06:46When you play against good teams, and very good teams, the likes of Australia, the Indies
06:51of the world, you can't afford to give them an opening.
06:56So I think that's how you get the competitiveness, I suppose, is you minimise those bad periods,
07:06you really maximise when you're on top, you really drive home that advantage.
07:11So when you're leading the game, when you're driving the game forward, and you're in front,
07:15you're in charge, you make sure you stay in front, you stay in charge.
07:20And this is where I talked about the problem solving, is when maybe you think you've got
07:24a problem solving, is when maybe things aren't quite going your way, how can you problem
07:28solve?
07:29How can you minimise the damage and find a way to get back into that driver's seat?
07:34They're the keys, and they're the things that we'll explore as a team, as a coaching unit,
07:39we'll share our experiences and ask the players.
07:45I want us to be a team, and I've spoken to Shah Massoud about this, I want us to be a
07:50team that is very open in our communication in the dressing room and bouncing ideas around
07:57and sharing thoughts, and then coming up with some solutions.
08:06And for us, if we can do that, and everyone has a say, everyone will have that buy-in
08:11and that collective, because that's what I want.
08:14I want us to be a tight unit, a strong unit, all together, playing well for Pakistan.
08:20That's my goal.
08:22You spoke about Shah Massoud.
08:23Shah took over the captaincy of Pakistan's Test side, replacing Babur Azam.
08:29How do you see him in that role?
08:30I was impressed with what I saw in Australia.
08:34And I know Shah is the captain of Yorkshire at the moment and is doing a fine job there.
08:40And I've had a number of conversations with him.
08:42He's really enjoying the role there.
08:44And he loved the opportunity to captain his country, captain Pakistan, which is great.
08:50And he's energised and excited about that.
08:53And he's very enthusiastic.
08:55So we've had some really good discussions about ideas on how we can go about our play.
09:04And yeah, he's very excited, very enthusiastic.
09:07And look, I think we've got a very fine leader there.
09:10And I'm really looking forward to working with him and working with all the players too.
09:16I just, you know, my goal as coach, I just want to help the players get better
09:20and play good cricket.
09:21And if we can do that and we can put some smiles on faces of Pakistan supporters,
09:26then, you know, I'll go a long way to doing my job.
09:31We are really hard to please.
09:35We are going to talk about that.
09:36Let's take a short commercial break.
09:38We'll be right back.
09:43Glad to have you back once again to Sportsroom in conversation with Jason Galspy.
09:47Jason, Pakistan has been considered to be a factory for producing fast bowlers.
09:53But surprisingly, the last two bowlers who took more than 200 wickets in test cricket
09:59are Wasim and Waqar.
10:00So why aren't we producing quality fast bowlers for this format?
10:05You just mentioned two of the best fast bowlers who ever played the game of cricket
10:09in Wasim Akram and Waqar Yunus.
10:11Two heroes of mine and heroes for a lot of people not just in Pakistan,
10:15all around the world.
10:15And naturally, I mean, any country would want to produce more players like that.
10:20And I think in time that will happen.
10:23But I suppose it's just getting the structures and the systems in place
10:28and getting exposure for young bowlers coming through.
10:34What's the pathway?
10:36How can we get that pathway right so that we can provide opportunity?
10:42One, it's talent ID, identify talented bowlers,
10:46and then give them opportunities to grow and nurture and learn, get stronger,
10:54work on the technical side of the game, but expose them to match experiences
11:01and then be out there in the middle because that's how you learn.
11:04And so I think it's a pathway situation where you get the systems and the structures in place.
11:12And then we'll see.
11:13But there's obviously a number of bowlers that are coming through in recent times.
11:17And let's hope that the current crop of Pakistan bowlers can continue on their trajectory
11:28to be the best bowlers they can be.
11:31And hopefully in time, in the next 10 years,
11:36the Pakistan public will be talking about current day players in the same breath
11:41as they talk about Wazim and Waqar and Imran and the likes of these guys.
11:45So that's certainly something.
11:48But you're right.
11:49I mean, Pakistan does have a rich history of fast bowling talent.
11:54How do we nurture that?
11:55That's the question.
11:57And if we can get the systems and the structures in place,
12:01then I think that'll go a long way towards improving that situation.
12:05Expectations here are very high and we want good results.
12:09So how are you going to deliver that?
12:11Yeah, good challenge.
12:12And it's going to be a real challenge.
12:18There's no doubt about that.
12:20Expectation is high.
12:21And when you have a country as proud and passionate as Pakistan,
12:28they love their cricket so much.
12:30They ride the highs and lows on a daily basis.
12:36We've got to manage the expectation of the players.
12:38Because the reality of professional sport is you're going to have some good days
12:42and you're going to have some not so good days.
12:44And it's managing that.
12:46It's media understanding that and managing that.
12:50And I suppose not putting too much expectation on the players.
12:55Understand that the players are human beings as well.
12:58And whether anyone likes it or not,
13:04players see and hear what's written about them in the media.
13:07And they're only human.
13:10And if something is really negative and hurtful, that hurts people.
13:15And it doesn't just affect the player, it affects their family and friends.
13:20And so I think people just need to understand that
13:26players go out there to do the very best they can.
13:28Okay, talking about Gary, have you been comparing notes?
13:32Is he giving you ideas about the team and the players and all?
13:36Oh, look, he's given me some feedback just as a general view.
13:40And just some of the players, obviously, he's interacted with the boys.
13:44And I've met a few of the lads.
13:45I wanted to meet the guys in person.
13:47You know, obviously, I've had to speak to Sian
13:51a little bit as captain, him being over in England.
13:55But yeah, just in terms of comparing notes,
14:00I mean, we're in charge of different formats.
14:03So, you know, I know he's done a report to pass on to the PCB,
14:09which I'm not privy to because I'm the red ball coach.
14:13But Gary and I have spoken and, you know, the things he's looking at,
14:18he's got a bit of time now to sort of really sit back and just
14:24take in and reflect on the World Cup.
14:29And bear in mind, he's only been in that role for a very, very short time.
14:32So it's quite new for him.
14:34Did you meet Masroor and you spoke with him?
14:37Because he's been looking after these kids for a very long time.
14:41I met him the other day and he came up to me
14:45and I went to shake his hand.
14:46He gave me a big hug.
14:47So him and I are going to get along well.
14:49He's a lovely man and very passionate.
14:52Masroor, he shared some of his learnings and thoughts.
14:59You know, I'm really grateful to have him around
15:03and to go on this Shaheen's trip
15:05because he's known a lot of these players from a very young age.
15:08That's what I'm saying, yeah.
15:09So, you know, as a resource, he's unbelievable.
15:12And just having been at training the other day
15:15and seeing the respect he has from all the players,
15:20you know, it's fantastic to see, you know, that there's that mutual respect.
15:23You know, you can tell he loves the players.
15:25They love him.
15:26It's fantastic.
15:27And I'm hoping as a coach, you know, to learn a lot from him
15:31because he's a very experienced coach.
15:32Your first assignment, the two tests against Bangladesh,
15:37relatively easy, I would say,
15:38because Bangladesh has never won a test against us.
15:41Yeah, I'm certainly not approaching it that way.
15:45Look, Bangladesh are a good cricket side.
15:47There's no question of that.
15:49Any international game, you know, is very important.
15:53Yes, of course.
15:55We need to make sure that we're at our best
15:58and we're well prepared.
16:00We're disciplined.
16:02We play good, hard, consistent cricket.
16:04That'll give us the best chance to have some success
16:07to best prepare, to give ourselves the best chance to win those games.
16:11After that, we are going to face England.
16:13Yes.
16:13And the last time they were here, they defeated us 3-0,
16:17bullied us in our own backyard.
16:20So are you going to retaliate this time?
16:23I hope so.
16:24No, look, certainly England, look, again,
16:28it's very clear how they like to go about their cricket.
16:31So we'll certainly formulate some strategies to come up with
16:36and some plans to play against England.
16:39So that'll be a fun series.
16:41And, you know, really excited about that.
16:43I know there's a bit of hurt from the last series here.
16:48But we've got to take the lessons from that series.
16:51Yes, of course.
16:51And apply them.
16:53Because we certainly don't want to make the same mistakes that we made last time.
16:56And looking forward to this time ahead with Pakistan Cricket.
16:59And hopefully we can all go on a journey together and have some success.
17:03We wish you very best of luck.
17:05You were an absolute legend when you were playing.
17:07And we were enjoying the second innings of your cricket career.
17:14And this time as a coach.
17:15And again, best of luck.
17:17Thank you so much for your time.
17:18Thank you so much, man.