Peter Gillespie

Peter Gerard Gillespie (born 11 May 1974) is an Irish former cricketer.^[1] A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler,^[2] he had played for the Ireland cricket team 116 times up to the start of the 2007 World Cup,^[3] including twelve first-class matches^[4] and 35 List A matches,^[5] four of which were One Day International.^[6] Only three players have played more times for Ireland.^[7]

Playing career[]

Early career[]

Born 11 May 1974 in Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland,^[2] 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.^[3] Later in the month, he made his List A debut against Yorkshire in the NatWest Trophy.^[5] He then represented Ireland in the Triple Crown Tournament the following month.^[8] He played just twice for Ireland in 1996,^[3] a Benson & Hedges Cup match against Gloucestershire in May^[5] and his first-class debut against Scotland in August.^[4]

1997 ICC Trophy[]

Gillespie was named in the Ireland squad for the 1997 ICC Trophy and played in nine matches.^[9] In the second round match against Hong Kong, he took 3/42,^[10] his best bowling figures in all matches for Ireland.^[3]

1997 to 1999[]

Gillespie played two more games for Ireland in 1997, both Benson & Hedges Cup games, against Middlesex and Glamorgan.^[5] In 1998, he began to become a more regular fixture in the Irish side. That year, he played against the MCC, Bangladesh,^[3] a NatWest Trophy match against Warwickshire,^[5] South Africa (twice) and Australia^[4] in addition to the Triple Crown^[11] and the European Championship.^[12] He also represented Northern Ireland in the cricket tournament at the 1998 Commonwealth Games,^[5] 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^[4] and again played in the Triple Crown.^[13]

2000 to 2004[]

The 21st century started for Peter Gillespie with a trip to Zimbabwe to play in the ICC Emerging Nations tournament,^[14] highlighted by an innings of 74 against Denmark.^[3] That year he also played against the MCC, Zimbabwe^[3] and in the European Championship.^[15]

He was not selected for the Ireland squad for the 2001 ICC Trophy,^[9] but came back into the side in August,^[3] playing in the Triple Crown^[8] and in the C & G Trophy against Wiltshire and the Hampshire Cricket Board.^[5] He won the man of the match award for an innings of 66 in the match against Wiltshire.^[16]

2002 started with a C & G Trophy match against Nottinghamshire^[3][5] and continued with a match against West Indies A in which he scored 88, his highest score for Ireland at that time,^[3] again picking up the man of the match award.^[17] He then played in the European Championship^[18] and against the MCC and Berkshire.^[3]

2003 was a busy year, with matches against Zimbabwe, South Africa, the MCC, the Free Foresters and Hertfordshire, amongst others.^[3] 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^[19] and the West Indies,^[20] Ireland's third win over the West Indies,^[21] also playing in the European Championship,^[22] two matches against Bangladesh, once against the MCC^[3] and ICC Intercontinental Cup games against Scotland and the Netherlands.^[4]

2005 ICC Trophy[]

Gillespie was named in the Ireland squad for the 2005 ICC Trophy^[23] and warmed up with his first century for Ireland, scoring 102 not out against the MCC in June.^[3] He played in five matches in the tournament itself,^[9] 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.^[24]

Also in 2005, he played against Loughborough UCCE, Warwickshire and Yorkshire,^[3] in addition to playing in Intercontinental Cup games against the Netherlands, Scotland, the UAE and the final against Kenya,^[4] which Ireland won.^[25]

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.^[6] He did not meet with much success in those games however, being dismissed for a duck in each of them. The first match saw him dismissed on the third ball, the second on the second ball, and the third on the first ball.^[26]

That year, he also played in all nine of Ireland's C & G Trophy games,^[5] against the MCC,^[3] in the European Championship^[27] and Intercontinental Cup games against Scotland and Namibia.^[4]

He was named in Ireland's squad for Division One of the World Cricket League in January/February 2007,^[28] but he only played in the match against Kenya.^[6] He then played in an Intercontinental Cup game against the UAE^[3] before being named in Ireland's squad for the 2007 World Cup.^[29]

He did not play in Ireland's first round matches as they beat Pakistan^[30] and tied against Zimbabwe^[31] to reach the Super 8 stage, and missed the first two matches in that stage^[32] before playing in the third match against New Zealand.^[6]

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.^[3]

Relations[]

Gillespie comes from a cricketing family, with three other members of his family all playing for Strabane, his club side in Ireland.^[26] His brother Mark also represented Ireland internationally.^[2]

References[]