Peter Gillespie

Peter Gerard Gillespie (1974–) is an Irish cricketer. A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler,^[1] he had played for the Ireland cricket team 116 times up to the start of the 2007 World Cup,^[2] including twelve first-class matches^[3] and 35 List A matches,^[4] four of which were One Day International.^[5] Only three players have played more times for Ireland.^[6]

Playing career

Early career

Born 11 May 1974 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland,^[1] Gillespie made his debut for Ireland on 6 June 1995 against the Duchess of Norfolk's XI at Arundel Castle. He played the following day against the MCC at Lord's.^[2] Later in the month, he made his List A debut against Yorkshire in the NatWest Trophy.^[4] He then represented Ireland in the Triple Crown Tournament the following month.^[7] He played just twice for Ireland in 1996,^[2] a Benson & Hedges Cup match against Gloucestershire in May^[4] and his first-class debut against Scotland in August.^[3]

1997 ICC Trophy

Gillespie was named in the Ireland squad for the 1997 ICC Trophy and played in nine matches.^[8] In the second round match against Hong Kong, he took 3/42,^[9] his best bowling figures in all matches for Ireland.^[2]

1997 to 1999

Gillespie played two more games for Ireland in 1997, both Benson & Hedges Cup games, against Middlesex and Glamorgan.^[4] In 1998, he began to become a more regular fixture in the Irish side. That year, he played against the MCC, Bangladesh,^[2] a NatWest Trophy match against Warwickshire,^[4] South Africa (twice) and Australia^[3] in addition to the Triple Crown^[10] and the European Championship.^[11] He also represented Northern Ireland in the cricket tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games,^[4] the only time to date that cricket has featured in the Commonwealth Games.

The following year, he played first-class matches against the South Africa Academy and Scotland^[3] and again played in the Triple Crown.^[12]

2000 to 2004

The 21st century started for Peter Gillespie with a trip to Zimbabwe to play in the ICC Emerging Nations tournament,^[13] highlighted by an innings of 74 against Denmark.^[2] That year he also played against the MCC, Zimbabwe^[2] and in the European Championship.^[14]

He was not selected for the Ireland squad for the 2001 ICC Trophy,^[8] but came back into the side in August,^[2] playing in the Triple Crown^[7] and in the C & G Trophy against Wiltshire and the Hampshire Cricket Board.^[4] He won the man of the match award for an innings of 66 in the match against Wiltshire.^[15]

2002 started with a C & G Trophy match against Nottinghamshire^[2][4] and continued with a match against West Indies A in which he scored 88, his highest score for Ireland at that time,^[2] again picking up the man of the match award.^[16] He then played in the European Championship^[17] and against the MCC and Berkshire.^[2]

2003 was a busy year, with matches against Zimbabwe, South Africa, the MCC, the Free Foresters and Hertfordshire, amongst others.^[2] In 2004, he played in Ireland's famous wins over Surrey in the C & G Trophy, which was only Ireland's second win over a first-class county^[18] and the West Indies,^[19] Ireland's third win over the West Indies.,^[20] also playing in the European Championship,^[21] two matches against Bangladesh, once against the MCC^[2] and ICC Intercontinental Cup games against Scotland and the Netherlands.^[3]

2005 ICC Trophy

Gillespie was named in the Ireland squad for the 2005 ICC Trophy^[22] and warmed up with his first century for Ireland, scoring 102 not out against the MCC in June.^[2] He played in five matches in the tournament itself,^[8] without much success until the semi-final against Canada, where he scored 64 not out to help lead Ireland to the final, winning the man of the match award in the process.^[23]

Also in 2005, he played against Loughborough UCCE, Warwickshire and Yorkshire,^[2] in addition to playing in Intercontinental Cup games against the Netherlands, Scotland, the UAE and the final against Kenya,^[3] which Ireland won.^[24]

2006 and onwards

2006 saw Ireland gain One Day International status, and Gillespie played in the first three of Ireland's such games against England, Scotland and the Netherlands.^[5] He did not meet with much success in those games however, being dismissed for a duck in each of them. Interestingly, the first match saw him dismissed on the third ball, the second on the second ball, and the third on the first ball.^[25]

That year, he also played in all nine of Ireland's C & G Trophy games,^[4] against the MCC,^[2] in the European Championship^[26] and Intercontinental Cup games against Scotland and Namibia.^[3]

He was named in Ireland's squad for Division One of the World Cricket League in January/February 2007,^[27] but he only played in the match against Kenya.^[5] He then played in an Intercontinental Cup game against the UAE^[2] before being named in Ireland's squad for the 2007 World Cup.^[28]

He did not play in Ireland's first round matches as they beat Pakistan^[29] and tied against Zimbabwe^[30] to reach the Super 8 stage, and missed the first two matches in that stage^[31] before playing in the third match against New Zealand.^[5]

Statistics

In all matches for Ireland up until the 2007 World Cup, Gillespie scored 2599 runs at an average of 27.65, and took 18 wickets at an average of 37.33.^[2]

Relations

Gillespie comes from a cricketing family, with three other members of his family all playing for Strabane, his club side in Ireland.^[25] His brother Mark also represented Ireland internationally.^[1]

References