Jason Gillespie joins Lions squad

Former Australia and current Sussex Cricket men's head coach Jason Gillespie will join the Lions for 12 days from February 8 during their tour Down Under.

"I'm excited by the opportunity to work with Richard Dawson, his support staff and all the players. It's a great chance to listen and learn from different people and I hope that I can add some value to the team from my own cricket experiences," said Gillespie.

Gillespie has taken over 400 international wickets and will offer the Lions' pacemen advice on how to take advantage of Australian conditions, working alongside his Somerset counterpart Jason Kerr.

A couple of the Lions seamers already have experience of playing in Australia with Craig Overton playing the final Test of the 2017/18 Ashes and Richard Gleeson playing in the recent Big Bash League (BBL) for Melbourne Renegades, while Ollie Robinson will be linking up with his county coach on his first overseas Lions tour."Richard is a great friend of mine as someone I played and coached with at Yorkshire and played against for Australia, so I know what an excellent person and leader he is. It's going to be a great fun and really rewarding experience," he added.

ECB Performance Director Mo Bobat said: "This will be a great opportunity for our young pace bowlers to learn from one of the best in the business. Jason was not only a quality bowler but is also an excellent coach with vast experience who will no doubt leave a lasting impression on the squad."

"I'm encouraging the whole squad and management team to make the most of Jason's time with us, to tap into his experience and local knowledge to improve themselves as players and coaches over the coming weeks," he added.

The Lions will play three four-day games on their tour of Australia, starting with a match against Cricket Australia XI in Hobart, starting on February 15. Then they will take on Australia A in a pink-ball day/night match at the MCG before finishing the tour with a four-dayer against a New South Wales XI.