Shawn Gillies announced his first-class arrival with 3 for 41 against the visiting South Africans in 2005-06, and his victims were a handy trio - AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph and Ashwell Prince. He also became the first player since Wayne Holdsworth in 1988-89 to take two wickets in his initial first-class over. Gillies made his Pura Cup and domestic one-day debuts that season but only managed one Pura Cup outing and two limited-overs games in 2006-07 as Western Australia had a surplus of allrounders to choose from. However, he was considered good enough to receive an invitation to the Academy in 2007. He had an outstanding summer for his club, Melville, compiling 495 runs at 41.3 and collecting 22 wickets at 15.3. Gillies, who has made seven first-grade centuries, worked as a WACA cricket officer before quitting to focus on the development of his own game. He was born in Jamaica and was four when his family moved to Perth, where his love of cricket was sparked while watching the touring West Indies at the WACA during the 1990s.
Brydon Coverdale July 2007

• Australia name Hong Kong Sixes squad (Oct 24, 2007)
  
• Gilchrist hundred thrashes Queensland (Nov 17, 2006)
  
• Brad Williams dropped from Western Australia squad (Jun 26, 2006)
  
• Australia chop Dorey so he can play for Warriors (Feb 13, 2006)
  
• South Africa in trouble at the WACA (Dec 6, 2005)

Dec 6, 2005 Shawn Gillies of WA celebrates taking the wicket of AB de Villiers © Getty Images

Dec 6, 2005 Shawn Gillies in action on his first-class debut © Getty Images

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