Gillespie happy with retirement decision

Jason Gillespie has said that he has no regrets about retiring from first-class cricket following his final match for Glamorgan last week. Gillespie had already stood down from South Australia during 2007-08 and his only future involvement on the field is likely to be in amateur club games and in the ICL.

"I can't imagine playing any more - I'm done," Gillespie told the Associated Press. "The time is right, so I am feeling comfortable with it. To know I won't be walking out with my team and bowling with the red ball again, yeah, there is a tinge of sadness, but I know it is the right time. I'm happy how it has ended, there's no point having any regrets."

Gillespie finished with 189 first-class appearances during which he collected 613 wickets at 26.98 and he also scored 3742 runs at 19.59. He said there were several highlights during his 14-year first-class career, not all of which came during his 71 Tests.

"I was lucky enough to be involved in winning Ashes squads a few times, which was great," he said. "Winning in India for the first time in 35 years was a big thrill and beating Sri Lanka 3-0 over there was a massive series.

"Winning Test matches generally is always a highlight and I enjoyed winning the Sheffield Shield with South Australia in 1995-96 because that was a big thing for our state. Ultimately, winning cricket matches is what we play the game for."

Gillespie, 33, said he was keen to spend more time with his wife, his 13-year-old daughter and two sons. He will have to wait for that opportunity as he is set to line up for the Ahmedabad Rockets when the ICL kicks off next week.