Peter Gillespie

Peter Gillespie
Cricket information
Batting style Right-handed batsman
Bowling style Right-arm medium-pace
International information
National side
  • Irish
ODI debut 13 June 2006 v  
Last ODI 9 April 2007 v  
Career statistics
Competition ODI First-class
Matches 5 12
Runs scored 2 304
Batting average 0.50 21.71
100s/50s 0/0 0/2
Top score 2 53
Balls bowled 0 198
Wickets – 5
Bowling average – 30.60
5 wickets in innings – 0
10 wickets in match n/a 0
Best bowling – 3/93
Catches/stumpings 0/0 7/0
Source: Cricket Archive

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

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cricket Archive profile
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 CricketEurope Stats Zone profile
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 First-class matches played by Peter Gillespie at Cricket Archive
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 List A matches played by Peter Gillespie at Cricket Archive – 38 in total, 2 for Northern Ireland, 1 during the 2007 World Cup
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 One-Day Internationals played by Peter Gillespie at Cricket Archive – Five in total, one of which is during the 2007 World Cup
  6. ↑ Most Matches played for Ireland at CricketEurope Stats Zone
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Other matches played by Peter Gillespie at Cricket Archive
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 ICC Trophy matches played by Peter Gillespie at Cricket Archive
  9. ↑ Scorecard of Ireland v Hong Match in the 1997 ICC Trophy at Cricket Archive
  10. ↑ Ireland squad for the 1998 Triple Crown tournament at CricketEurope
  11. ↑ Ireland squad for the 1998 European Championship at CricketEurope
  12. ↑ Ireland squad for the 1999 Triple Crown at CricketEurope
  13. ↑ Ireland squad for the 2000 ICC Emerging Nations tournament at CricketEurope
  14. ↑ Ireland squad for the 2000 European Championship at CricketEurope
  15. ↑ Scorecard of Wiltshire v Ireland in August 2001 at Cricket Archive
  16. ↑ Scorecard of Ireland v West Indies A match in June 2002 at Cricket Archive
  17. ↑ Ireland squad for the 2002 European Championship at CricketEurope
  18. ↑ Match report on Ireland v Surrey C & G Trophy match in May 2004 at Cricket Archive
  19. ↑ Scorecard of Ireland v West Indies match in June 2004 at Cricket Archive
  20. ↑ Article about Ireland's win over the West Indies in 2004 at CricketEurope
  21. ↑ Squads for the 2004 European Championship at Cricket Europe
  22. ↑ Ireland squad for the 2005 ICC Trophy at the tournament's official website
  23. ↑ Scorecard of 2005 ICC Trophy Semi Final between Ireland and Scotland at Cricket Archive
  24. ↑ Scorecard of 2005 Intercontinental Cup final between Ireland and Kenya at Cricket Archive
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Cricinfo profile
  26. ↑ Squads for the 2006 European Championship at Cricket Europe
  27. ↑ Squads for the 2007 World Cricket League Division One at CricketEurope
  28. ↑ Ireland squad for the 2007 World Cup at CricketEurope
  29. ↑ Scorecard of Ireland v Pakistan match in the 2007 Cricket World Cup at Cricket Archive
  30. ↑ Scorecard of Ireland v Zimbabwe match in the 2007 World Cup at Cricket Archive
  31. ↑ Scorecards of matches one and two in the 2007 World Cup Super Eight stage for Ireland