The 33-year-old Australian pacer Peter Siddle has been surprisingly selected for the upcoming UAE tour to play two-match Test series. Despite there is the strong competition in the Australian pace bowling line-up, Siddle has wished to play for Australia for more time.
Siddle played his last Test match in November 2016 during South Africa tour of Australia in 2016/17. Due to Siddle’s recent consistency performances with the ball in hand and some fitness problems among the regular Australian pacers, Siddle has returned to the Test squad.
Prior to the selection process, Siddle claimed that Big Bash gave him a lot of confidence while the English County cricket has increased that level.
Siddle told Cricbuzz before his surprised selection, “A strong Big Bash gave me a lot of confidence and then playing a bit more cricket in England after being injured has helped. Getting more cricket under my belt is starting to pay dividends. (It’s) showing that I can still perform at the highest level and am putting the ball in the right place. I could definitely still be doing that at international level.
“The big thing in the past 12 months is that I’ve concentrated a lot more than I probably have previously on not being too focused about getting back into the Australian side. Instead, I’ve tried to focus on the games I am playing in. Over the last year, my attitude has been that I’ve got to be on the park and performing for whatever side I’m playing for. I’m enjoying cricket. The last twelve months, I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve played some of my better cricket and over here this summer, I’ve put in some of my best performances in a very long time. That’s the pleasing thing.”
Also read: Australia Announces Test Squad, Finch and Siddle Gets A Cut
Siddle has made his mind clear that he is not thinking yet to retire from the international cricket as he still wants to represent his country.
Siddle said, “I still want to play for Australia. I still have that drive to represent my country. It’s bringing out the best of me in whatever tournament I am playing in. If I got to a stage where I wasn’t performing, there would be a lot of pressure to move on but while I am still performing, I want to keep playing for as long as I can. I’ve got a good few years still to go.”
Since making his international cricket debut in October 2008, Siddle has played 62 Tests, 17 ODIs and only two T20Is where the right-arm pacer has picked up a total of 229 wickets (211 in Tests, 15 in ODIs and three in T20Is).
In the ongoing English County season, Siddle remains consistent with the ball. The recent Test opportunity can open the door for him to feature in the next year’s Ashes series in England for having huge experiences.
Siddle spoke out about the English condition, “I’ve always enjoyed the English conditions. For the last couple of summers back home, we have used the Dukes ball for the back half of our seasons so adapting to the ball isn’t perhaps as difficult as it has been in the past. It’s length which is the big change in England. The pitches aren’t quite as quick and as bouncy as back home so you want to pitch the ball up.
“The benefits of a bit of seam and swing movement over here is a massive bonus for the bowlers. Trying to hit the stumps is the big thing here as well. You can get a lot of bowled and LBWs by pitching the ball up with a bit of seam movement. If you put it in the right areas, you will get results.”
