How did Jason Gillespie become 'Dizzy'?

Jason Gillespie's middle name 'Dizzy' is inspired by US jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

Asheesh Sharma experienced a dizzy feeling with Jason ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie

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4.45 pm Jason emerges from the hotel gym escorted by a quartet of leggy pit girls en route to watching Fernando Alonso pip Michael Schumacher at the Monza GP. Is he a F-1 fanatic? “No, but the way you follow the fortunes of…what’s his name? Naaren, I Mark Webber, the Aussie at F-1. Gotta do it for the nation on Race Day, mate!” Yeah, mate, sure!

5.30 pm After 45 minutes of promoting Fosters and interacting with fans, we hit the road. First destination Café Coffee Day, Noida Sector 18.

5.35 pm Opening spell. Cricket journo, right arm over, tosses first query: What’s with the nickname Dizzy? “The nick is inspired by American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. My friends find it real cool back in Adelaide.” Adelaide, eh, city of churches. That explains the Jesus Christ hairdo then? “No, but I’ve been called Jesus before. The Mullet idea occurred over a few beers with Warny (Shane Warne). If you’d ask me to describe my hairdo, mate, I’d say business in the front and party at the back.”

6 pm There’s a stampede as soon as he steps out of the Qualis. Fans want autographs on tableclothes, tissues, t-shirts, their infant’s shirt. A girl almost brings the glass partition down. So, Jason? What do you think of Indian women? “Fab! Great bods, dark hair, just like me. But I’m not used to so many people around. Back in Adelaide, I’d walk down the marketplace and nobody would say boo!”

6.30 pm We are at a traffic light and a street urchin taps on Jason’s window. “Sorry but I don’t like this, mate,” he says. “Pleeeeease move on!” The first signs of the fast bowler’s aggression. The light turns green and Jason’s grinning again.

7.30 pm 150 seconds of reflected glory. I am facing Jason’s bowling at Noida Sector 15’s Sports and Culture Club. First delivery goes over my head. The next is driven off the backfoot. It thuds into the side netting. By now, Jason’s eyes are twinkling. Now comes the meanie! It hits me on the nostril. Thank God for tennis balls. “Gotcha, mate!”
is Jason’s Aboriginal war-cry.

So, how good does he feel aiming at Sourav’s ribcage? “Great. I would also bounce Inzi and Lara. Lara ducks when I do it,” he says. So, who are the best players of the rising ball? “Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs and Michael Vaughan. And Romesh Kaluwithrana with his
horizontal bat.”

8 pm The other journo with me reminds Jason of the wild party in the dressing room after the Nagpur Test last series. “That was crazy. I couldn’t stand up by the time we had to board the team bus! But you guys had a splendid win playing away in Adelaide. Dravid scored a double ton. He is already among the greats of Indian cricket and will be among the game’s greats by the time he retires.”

8.20 pm Stock delivery. His views on Tendulkar’s slump in form. “Sachin is a great player. His bad form is a lot of media hype, mate. You don’t lose your skills overnight.” Point taken.

8.45 pm The slog overs. Will The Ashes be another cakewalk for the Kangaroos? “Never was. They’ve beaten West Indies away from home. Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothik and Graham Thorpe are quality batsmen,” he says, as he dunks another empty Fosters bottle into the seat’s flap. Is Jason big on beer? Will he break Merv Hughes and David Boon’s record of 58 cans on one Ashes flight? “Those days are long gone, mate. I don’t drink that much in a year. Two glasses in the evening is more like me. I love my wine, though, and have 540 good ones in the cellar. I freak out on Sauvignon Blanc.”