Jason Gillespie will hold talks with England director Andrew Strauss in the next 24 hours over the vacant head coach’s position.
The 40-year-old Yorkshire coach has spoken to Strauss on the phone and will now sit down to discuss the role.
England want a successor to sacked coach Peter Moores before the Ashes.
Gillespie told BBC Sport on Tuesday that he would “take persuading” to leave Yorkshire, who he led to the County Championship title last year.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) declined to comment, but did not deny that talks were scheduled.
The former Australia fast bowler is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Moores, who was dismissed on 9 May after a disappointing World Cup and drawn Test series in West Indies.
Justin Langer, Gillespie’s former Australia team-mate, ruled himself out of contention for the job on Tuesday following talks with Strauss.
When he spoke to the BBC, Gillespie said it was “very humbling” to have been named as a candidate by Strauss, but was yet to receive an approach.
Now that initial contact has been made, he will meet the former England captain to discuss the position.
Jason Gillespie’s career so far |
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Gillespie played in 71 Tests and 97 ODIs for Australia between 1996 and 2006, taking 401 wickets. |
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He got the highest ever score as a Test nightwatchman (201 not out) against Bangladesh in 2006. |
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Gillespie coached in Zimbabwe and the IPL before joining Yorkshire in 2011. |
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He led Yorkshire from Division Two to County Championship champions in three years and has lost only three first-class matches. |
Assistant coach Paul Farbrace is taking charge of England for the two-Test series against New Zealand, starting on Thursday at Lord’s.
But the ECB hope to have a permanent head coach in place for the five-Test series against Australia, beginning on 8 July.
“The most important thing is that we get the right man for the job even if that takes a little bit longer,” said England captain Alastair Cook on Wednesday.
“We’ve got Farby at the moment, a very fine man who has had success at international level. In an ideal world, we would like the new man in place before the Ashes starts.
“If that isn’t the case, we can’t do anything about it. It’s a very big job and Straussy has to get the right man.”
