Jason Gillespie enlisted for England Lions tour in Australia

The former Australia Test seamer will spend 12 days with the second string and will work directly with the seamers in the squad

• Carse looking to make up for lost time
• Cox replaces injured Moores

England have finally enlisted the services of Jason Gillespie - five years on from overlooking him as a potential head coach.

The former Australia quick will join-up with the Lions for 12 days from February 8 during their tour Down Under, having concluded duties with Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash.

Current Sussex coach Gillespie, who took 259 wickets during his Test career, will lend advice to the red-ball fast-bowling battery in tandem with bowling lead Jason Kerr.

Following the conclusion of the white-ball leg of the schedule, England's second string face two Cricket Australia XIs and Australia A in three four-day matches.

"I’m excited by the opportunity to work with Richard Dawson, his support staff and all the players," said the 44-year-old.

"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.

"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 great fun and a really rewarding experience."

The move comes after England came close to appointed Gillespie as their head coach in 2015, before eventually opting to bring in Trevor Bayliss.

^{England Lions will switch their attention to the red ball next week}

Following a glittering international career, Gillespie has occupied coaching roles with Kings XI Punjab, Yorkshire and Papua New Guinea, among others.

Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory will be among those players to benefit from Gillespie's presence in and around a squad coached by Richard Dawson.

ECB performance director Mo Bobat added: "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.

"Learning how to impact games with the ball in Australian conditions is a great challenge and having Jason on hand to help our players with this is of huge value. It will no doubt stand them in good stead for future Ashes success. 

"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.

"It will be great to see him working closely with Jason Kerr who is leading our pace bowling support during the tour and sharing expertise in this way can only be good for our game as a whole."