Jason Gillespie

Bowling

Gillespie took 259 wickets in 71 Tests (at an average of 26.13) making him Australia's sixth-highest wicket-taker and giving him the 14th best bowling average for Australian bowlers who have taken more than a hundred wickets.^[11]

In terms of pace, he usually bowled at 140–150 km/h (87-93 mph) mark in his early career up to about 2001. When he made his comeback in the 2001/02 season, he bowled more consistently, but at a speed of about 135–145 km/h (84-90 mph). Consistent injuries forced Gillespie to operate from a shorter run-up and therefore reduce his pace.

Gillespie seldom dominated a Test series (the most wickets he took in a series is 20), but he was a reliable support bowler over several years for his more famous teammates Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. However, Gillespie's career suffered an unexpectedly sharp decline. In early 2005, there were some signs that he was struggling, with somewhat poor displays against New Zealand, but he was still considered Australia's leading fast-bowling partner for McGrath. This poor form continued into the 2005 Ashes series where he struggled badly, taking just three wickets at a cost of 300 runs and, as a result, was dropped after the third Test.

After the Ashes series Gillespie took 40 wickets for South Australia during the 2005/06 Pura Cup Season. He was the fourth-highest wicket taker in the competition, with an average (21.27) far below the other leading wicket takers. His best figures came against Victoria where he took 7–35. These performances saw him make a return to the Australian Test side against Bangladesh after injury problems to the first choice attack. Gillespie was named man of the series after taking 8 wickets and making a double century in the two Tests but was never selected to play for Australia again.

Batting

Gillespie occasionally proved his worth with the bat, with a highest Test score of 201 not out and an average of 18.73. He is the only player in Test cricket with a career batting average of less than 20 to reach 200 runs in an innings. He demonstrated a solid defensive game, known amongst teammates as 'The Walking Forward Defence', and despite not regularly making big scores, he was a difficult batsman to dismiss and occupied the crease for substantial periods of time, allowing his batting partner time to get a big score. Also, given his low back lift, he could defend or deflect shots from spin bowlers more readily.

He has a one-day international high score of 44 not out and he averages 12.56 in one-day internationals with a strike rate of 78.53.

In the second Test match against Bangladesh at Chittagong on 19 April 2006, Gillespie (201 not out) set the world record (on his 31st birthday) for the highest individual score by a night watchman. This was Gillespie's maiden first-class century. Gillespie also shared a 4th wicket partnership of 320 runs with Michael Hussey. Gillespie was awarded man-of-the-match honours for his double-century in the first innings, and he was also named man of the series for his efforts that included eight wickets, at an average of 11.25, across the two Tests. It was his final match in international cricket. Gillespie is the only night watchman to score a double century in an innings of a Test.^[12]

Injuries

Jason Gillespie preparing to bowl for South Australia against Western Australia in January 2007

Throughout his career, Gillespie had bad luck with injuries, suffering from foot injuries, stress fractures in the back, hip twinges, side-strains, shoulders, torn calves, aching hamstrings, groin complaints and a broken right leg. He played only 52 from a possible 92 Tests following his debut to his axing during the 2005 Ashes series. Despite these problems, he was both accurate and economical.

In Australia's 1999 tour of Sri Lanka, he was involved in a sickening outfield collision when both he and Steve Waugh were running to take a catch. Waugh was running from the infield towards the outfield, while Gillespie was running in. Waugh dived for the ball resulting in his nose and Gillespie's right leg being broken. The catch was not taken.

Test centuries

Test centuries of Jason Gillespie
No	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Start date	Result
[1]	201*	71	Bangladesh	Chittagong, Bangladesh	Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium	16 April 2006	Won

Test 5 Wicket hauls

#	Figures	Match	Opponent	Venue	City	Country	Year
1	5/54	4	South Africa	St George's Park	Port Elizabeth	South Africa	1997
2	7/37	8	England	Headingley Cricket Ground	Leeds	England	1997
3	5/88	10	England	WACA Ground	Perth	Australia	1998
4	5/89	16	West Indies	Adelaide Oval	Adelaide	Australia	2000
5	6/40	17	West Indies	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne	Australia	2000
6	5/53	23	England	Lord's	London	England	2001
7	5/39	40	West Indies	Bourda	Georgetown	Guyana	2003
8	5/56	57	India	Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground	Nagpur	India	2004

ODI 5 Wicket hauls

#	Figures	Match	Opponent	Venue	City	Country	Year
1	5/22	38	Pakistan	Gymkhana Club Ground	Nairobi	Kenya	2002
2	5/70	41	Pakistan	Gymkhana Club Ground	Nairobi	Kenya	2002
3	5/32	72	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club	Harare	Zimbabwe	2004

One Day International Cricket

Man of the Match awards

S No	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	Sri Lanka	Galle International Stadium, Galle	22 August 1999	0 (1 balls) ; 6–1–26–3	Australia won by 50 runs (D/L).[25]
2	England	Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester	14 June 2001	DNB ; 9–5–20–3	Australia won by 125 runs (D/L).[26]
3	South Africa	New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	22 March 2002	11* (12 balls) ; 10–0–39–3	Australia won by 19 runs.[27]
4	Bangladesh	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo	19 September 2002	10–1–20–3 ; DNB	Australia won by 9 wickets.[28]
5	India	SuperSport Park, Centurion	15 February 2003	10–2–13–3 ; DNB	Australia won by 9 wickets.[29]
6	Sri Lanka	R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	25 February 2004	10–1–36–3 ; DNB	Australia won by 5 wickets.[30]
7	Zimbabwe	Harare Sports Club, Harare	29 May 2004	10–2–32–5, 1 ct. ; DNB	Australia won by 8 wickets.[31]