Gillespie declares himself fit and ready to fire

ADELAIDE - Test paceman Jason Gillespie has declared himself fully fit and ready to prove it against an international-strength New South Wales batting line-up tomorrow.

Gillespie missed Australia's past two Test matches against Pakistan with a calf strain, the most recent of a long line of injuries to interrupt his international career.

But today he dismissed doubts about his readiness for Australia's Ashes campaign, saying he had been bowling well in practice sessions and was ready to go flat-out for South Australia against the Blues in the ING Cup match at Adelaide Oval.

"I'm fit, I've declared myself fit, so I'll be playing and playing as hard as I can," Gillespie said.

He described tomorrow's one-dayer as an ideal first step in his build-up to the opening Ashes Test, starting on Thursday at the Gabba.

"Ten overs in a game situation will be good, and then leading into the Test there'll be obviously quite a few training sessions that I can get through and then just build up some momentum leading into the Test match," he said.

"I think that's plenty of preparation, and it is good tomorrow to have a hit-out and play a game for the Redbacks.

"You always like to know that you're feeling good and 100 per cent and having a bowl tomorrow will just reinforce that."

Gillespie said he relished the rare opportunity to bowl to present and former Australian team-mates.

The NSW batting line-up includes Steve and Mark Waugh, Michael Bevan and Simon Katich, as well as the nation's most highly rated young batsman Michael Clarke.

"It's good fun, because you know the guys pretty well and you play a lot with them," he said.

"To play against them is a bit of a novelty, it doesn't happen that often, and you really want to try and do well against them so the enthusiasm's there, it's just a big challenge and you just really want to do well."

Gillespie predicted Mark Waugh's performance would be unaffected by his recent axing from the Test side and subsequent international retirement.

"Mark will just do what he normally does, go out there and play cricket and have fun," Gillespie said.

"I'm sure he's looking forward to this game, he always looks forward to playing for NSW, and I think tomorrow will be no different."

But while fellow Australian Test bowlers Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne have publicly stated England will struggle to win a Test in the five-match Ashes series, Gillespie was unwilling to add any predictions of his own.

"I just worry about the things you can control and do the things that are within your control," he said.

"I just go out there and bowl and do the best I can, if you do the right things and stick to your gameplan then things will look after themselves."