Gillespie glad to achieve goal

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie was delighted to achieve promotion back to the First Division at the first time of asking, in spite of horrendous weather encountered throughout the campaign.

The White Rose celebrated their return to the top tier last week with a 239-run victory over Essex at Chelmsford, their third in an impressive run of results and scores at the business end of the season.

Yorkshire had sealed promotion the previous day when nearest rivals Kent fell to defeat at the hands of Glamorgan at Cardiff.

It was a case of mission accomplished for Gillespie, who took the reins at Headingley last November.

“Our goal was to make Division One and we did that,” said Gillespie, who took 259 wickets in 71 Tests for Australia.

“The facts are that we didn’t lose a Championship game all season, we lost more time to weather than any other team in the country, and it’s a real testament to this group of players that we’ve gone up a division even when, at times, the odds have been stacked against us.”

Yorkshire lost 24 days out of a possible 63, more than any other side in the County Championship. That included 13 complete washouts.

Despite losing so much time to the elements, Gillespie’s side only narrowly missed out on the title. Derbyshire finished level on points with Yorkshire but claimed the trophy by virtue of having won more games during the course of the season.

The days lost to weather proved the difference in Yorkshire’s case, but Gillespie was proud, nevertheless.

“We gained promotion on the back of three straight wins and that shows the spirit and determination in the side,” added Gillespie, who as a player was a real favourite of the betting community.

“The weather held us back for much of the year but, when we got good weather right at the last, we showed what we’re capable of.”

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