Worcestershire batsman Callum Ferguson has revealed the impact made on his early career by Sussex Head Coach Jason Gillespie ahead of tomorrow’s (Tuesday’s) meeting between the two counties at Kidderminster.
Ferguson was in his late teens when he first started playing alongside Gillespie for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield after making his domestic bow in Adelaide during the 2004-2005 campaign for the Redbacks
Gillespie left a lasting impression with Ferguson on how to approach the game before hanging up his spikes and embarking on a successful coaching career – in this country with Yorkshire before his switch to Hove.
Ferguson said: “We played three or four seasons together when I was first starting out for South Australia and, as a senior player, he was fantastic to me and looked after me really well.
“He certainly taught me a lot about how to play hard-nosed first class cricket so I’ve got no doubt coming up Sussex that it is going to be a real challenge.
“Any side Jason Gillespie leads will put up a contest and play in the right spirit and certainly provide lots of challenges.
“I’m really looking forward to the game and it will be great to catch up with him. I can’t speak highly enough of him.
“Jason was a fantastic player, a legend of Australian cricket, there is no doubt about that.
“He was such a great character and everyone loved watching him, the long hair, the fierce competitive fast bowling, swinging it both ways.
“I loved watching him play in the Australian colours and I was very fortunate to have played with him.
“Now in the coaching sphere he is doing great things. He’s had some fantastic success with Yorkshire and doing a great job with Sussex now and also won the Big Bash with the Adelaide Strikers.”
