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Jason Neil Gillespie (born 19 April 1975 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent lower-order batsman. He made his Test debut against the West Indies at Sydney in 1996 and his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka at Colombo in the Singer World Series in 1996. On 29 February 2008, Gillespie announced his retirement from first-class cricket in Australia and has since taken up a lucrative contract with the Indian Cricket League where he plays for Ahmedabad Rockets. At the end of the 2008 English domestic season he retired from all first-class cricket.

Biography
Jason Gillespie is a descendant of the Kamilaroi people of Indigenous Australians, and is the first acknowledged Aboriginal person to become a Test cricketer. His mother has Greek heritage. Jason married Anna (née McEvoy) in 2003. The couple have 2 children, Jackson (born February 2006) and Brandon (born October 2007). Gillespie also has a daughter, Sapphire (born march 1995) from a previous relationship. .

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.

In terms of pace, he bowled in the mid 140s-150 km/h mark in his early career up to about 2001. When he made his comeback in the 2000/01 season, he bowled more consistently, but at a speed of about mid-130s-low-140s in terms of kilometres per hour. Consistent injuries have 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 took 8 wickets and made a double century in the two Tests but did not feature in the 2006/07 Ashes Series.

Batting
Gillespie has 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 demonstrates a solid defensive game, known amongst team-mates as 'The Walking Forward Defence', and despite not regularly making big scores, he is a difficult batsman to dismiss and occupies the crease substantial periods of time, allowing his partner time to hit a big score.

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

In the second Test match against Bangladesh at Chittagong on 9 April 2006, Jason 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 honors 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.

Gillespie made his first domestic first-class century exactly a year later on his 32nd birthday in a County Championship match versus Surrey at The Oval whilst playing for Yorkshire. He hit an unbeaten 123 and in doing so, alongside Tim Bresnan, set a record ninth-wicket partnership for Yorkshire. The pair put on 246 before Bresnan was stumped off the bowling of Nayan Doshi. Gillespie's 123 not out was also the highest score for Yorkshire by a number 10 batsman.

Gillespie made his first Australian domestic century in a Pura Cup match in the 2007/08 season against Tasmania. He put on a 250-run partnership with the South Australian wicketkeeper Graham Manou, who made 190. Gillespie remained 118 not out when the innings came to a close.

Injuries
Throughout his career, Gillespie has 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 still 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.

Merchandising

 * Gillespie's clothing label, DZ9, was released in October 2005.


 * Gillespie's bat sponsor Sommers is expected to finalise a name for the limited-edition blade (possibly DZ201) at a meeting on the 20 April 2006.

Trivia

 * Gillespie is nicknamed Dizzy after the jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.


 * In 2002, he was named by Wisden as one of the Cricketers of the Year.


 * He is one of only six players to take more than 250 wickets for Australia, the others being Shane Warne (708), Glenn McGrath (563), Dennis Lillee (355), Brett Lee (300*) & Craig McDermott (291).


 * Gillespie was named to Inside Cricket's "best Australian Test XI from 1995 to 2005" team by a panel of ten experts, including Dennis Lillee and Greg and Ian Chappell. (1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Mark Taylor (C), 3 Ricky Ponting, 4 Mark Waugh, 5 Steve Waugh, 6 Adam Gilchrist, 7 Ian Healy (W), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Craig McDermott, 11 Glenn McGrath)


 * Gillespie was also named to both the World XI Test Team Team of the Year (2004) and the World XI ODI of the Year (2004) at the inaugural ICC Awards dinner, joining fellow Australians Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne in the Test team, and Gilchrist and Ponting in the one-day team.


 * He is a supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs National Rugby League team and the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League.


 * He holds the record for a 9th wicket partnership for Yorkshire, alongside Tim Bresnan, of 246.


 * He also holds the record for a number 10 batsmen for Yorkshire (123*).

Double-Century Related

 * On his 31st birthday, Jason Gillespie (201*) took the world record for the highest individual score by a night-watchman (prev: 125 by Mark Boucher, South Africa v Zimbabwe, Harare 1999/00).


 * Gillespie became the first Australian nightwatchman to score a century in almost 30 years. Tony Mann was the last, against India at the WACA Ground in 1977.


 * His 201* innings was the first time, at any level of cricket, that Jason Gillespie had reached three figures batting.


 * Gillespie became the 35th Test cricketer (and 6th Australian) to convert a maiden century into a double-century.


 * Only Wasim Akram, Ian Botham, and Jason Gillespie have scored a double-century in Test cricket and taken 250+ wickets.


 * Jason Gillespie and Michael Hussey's 320 runs partnership is the 8th highest for the 4th wicket and the 47th highest Test partnership ever. For Australian partnerships alone, it is the 3rd highest for the 4th wicket and 11th highest ever.


 * Jason Gillespie was dropped from the Australian team after the Test Match in which he scored 201*.


 * Matthew Hayden jokingly vowed, after Jason Gillespie reached his century in the second Test against Bangladesh, that if it was extended into a double-century, he (Hayden) would do a lap of the oval, naked. Upon hearing this, Gillespie said that in that case he (Gillespie) would join in, too. At this time, the two do not yet seem to have fulfilled the terms of the wager due to them being in a Muslim country.


 * Gillespie's 201* is the highest score by an Australian against Bangladesh.