Former Australian paceman Jason Gillespie has revealed that he heaved a big sigh of relief when he was overlooked for the England coaching job last year.
The 41-year-old, who took 259 wickets in his 71 Tests for Australia, had been considered as the favourite for the high-profile job after the sacking of Peter Moores following a dismal World Cup and a drawn Test series against the West Indies last year.
However, fellow Australian Trevor Bayliss was chosen for the role, which interestingly came as a big relief to Gillespie, who said "it would have been a tough offer to accept" due to his desire to spend more time with his young family.
"In a funny kind of way it's worked out well," Gillespie was quoted as saying by news.com.au. "At the time, it would've been a difficult job to turn down - one of the best jobs in world cricket. You'd have to weigh that up. It would've been a tough decision ... but I didn't have to make that call.
"Everyone just assumes you're going to take these roles and do things just because you're offered it. But it's not quite as straightforward as that."
Gillespie, who was also linked with the role of full-time fast bowling coach with Australia, recently stepped down from his position as Yorkshire coach after guiding the England county side to two consecutive titles.
"If the kids were a little bit older, you can potentially look at things a bit differently. but at the moment they're 10, eight, six and three," he said. "I don't want to be away seven or eight months a year not seeing them grow up, and be their dad.
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