A strongly built right-arm pace bowler, Mark Raymond Gillespie found himself on the radar of national selection after bagging 43 wickets at an impressive average of 23.16 for Wellington in the 2005-06 season. With the advent of injuries though, he had to wait one more year for his international debut.

His maiden international match - an ODI versus Sri Lanka turned out to be a forgettable one with him leaking 64 runs in 9 overs. Then, Gillespie produced some good displays in the Commonwealth Bank Tri-nation series in Australia. His yorkers and slower cutters branded him as an effective death overs bowler. On his Test debut, he took a 5-fer against South Africa in Centurion. He was on fire in the World T20 Championship in 2007-08, routing Kenya with a spell of 4-7, which stands as the second best bowling figures by a Kiwi in T20Is.

Unfortunately for Gillespie, the form tailed off soon after as he was axed from the team. He came back in 2009 but fell short of cementing his spot in the team. With injuries ravaging his bowling, Gillespie's powers have reduced drastically.

By Cricketlineguruji Staff