It had been a magnificent summer for Peter Siddle, at least from a team perspective, until Darren Lehmann and co made the sort of tough call that has made him popular with the Australian cricketing public.
Alarmed by Siddle’s lack of pace in their 5-0 Ashes whitewash and first two Tests on South African soil, Lehmann dropped the lion-hearted wood-chopper for the decider in South Africa.
Now that the dust has well and truly settled on Australia’s Test summer, the emotion around Siddle’s ommision and Australia’s ultimate series triumph, let us ask ourselves the question: will Peter Siddle ever play Test cricket again?
Darren Lehmann gave a somewhat qualified indication that he believes Siddle will return.
“[Siddle would] like some more wickets obviously but it’s the pace drop. We need him bowling 140 and at the moment he’s averaging 131, 132. He knows that, we’ve spoken to him and I’m sure he will be back bigger and stronger.”
So it seems that it is merely a matter of Siddle finding an extra eight kilometres per hour before October 24 and Australia’s next Test against Pakistan in Dubai to reclaim his place in the team.
His accuracy and work rate certainly cannot be questioned, so it might well be that Lehmann was simply concerned Siddle was getting tired. The call was therefore made to bring in James Pattinson, and the extra pace he brings, for the crucial final Test.
Another factor in Siddle’s favour in returning to the Test team is the propensity for Australia to suffer injuries. Indeed, it is probably the reason that Siddle was such a mainstay of the Australian Test team.
Mitch Starc, Pat Cummins, Jackson Bird and Pattinson have all threatened to permanently break into the team, however none have been able to play consistently.
Siddle is also 29, while Ryan Harris and Mitch Johnson, clearly above Siddle in the fast bowling pecking order, are the wrong side of 30. Still, both have made clear their intentions to keep playing for as long as possible, as their careers have both been stunted for different reasons.
It remains to be seen whether their bodies will be able to cope, as both are currently out injured – Harris recovering from knee surgery and Johnson with a toe infection. Siddle therefore remains a fairly good chance to break back into the Australian team simply by being fit.
Yet the very thing that may help Siddle force his way back into the team may also hinder his progression– the time between now and Australia’s next Test.
While this break will give Siddle a rest and an oppurtunity to refine his technique and recover some lost pace, it will also give the aforementioned bowlers a chance to recover from any injuries and mature both mentally and physically.
It is not inconceivable that, come October, Siddle is not even included in the travelling sextet of fast bowlers to tour the Middle East. Australia are already building for an away Ashes series in 2015, and may pick a combination of youth and experience.
The experience picked is likely to be in the form or Harris and Johnson so the selectors could find it hard to justify picking Siddle, thus denying valuable international experience for a player such as Pattinson or Starc.
Ever since famously taking a hat trick on his birthday against England, Siddle has been a fan favourite.
For Victorians, Siddle was a favourite son from the moment he was selected for Australia, and he has been given the best reception a bowler has received on the MCG since Shane Warne bowled Andrew Strauss to take his 700th Test wicket.
In front of 90,000 fans on Boxing Day 2013, the roar that accompanied Siddle’s first ball to his bunny Kevin Pietersen was absolutely spinetingling – the clear highlight on an otherwise quite benign day’s cricket.
For these moments and more, the Australian public will always fondly remember Peter Siddle.
Most would hope that his international career is not over, that he is back next summer bowling on Boxing Day, working his way towards 200 wickets from the 188 he currently has from 53 Tests.
But the reality of forward planning may mean that Siddle will struggle to play Test cricket for Australia again.
The selectors, and most objective viewers, will see a Test series against Pakistan as the ideal time to get some new blood into Australia’s brilliant but undeniably old fast-bowling attack.
A Siddle-less Australia is, for this Victorian, something that is difficult to contemplate and quite sad.
mickyo
Guest
Like many here seem to have done, I too would love to be on the bandwagon that suddenly all of our bowlers have the midas touch. The cornerstone of our attack, although never the most talented ( I rated Hilfy as a superior talent )has been P. Siddle. A loss or two brought about by undisciplined bowling will see the old reliable Siddle brought back into the team before too long at all. With an injury to either Mitch or Harris and perhaps a retirement to the other and Clarkey will be begging to have his reliability back in the side. Its that reliability that keeps you competing anywhere in the world in any conditions. The moment Australias bowling is enjoying is great but very fleeting, with Harris, Johnson and Watto ( a very valuable part of the attack ) not likely to be around for all that long. Suddenly you will see the value of gutsy players who can hold guys like Pattinsom, Cummins and other blokes together who havent yet learned 1000% responsibility with the ball . Siddle is that man, a rare bowler who deserves better than the rubbish about his diet being a detriment. Of course we all want to Rush in the most talented attack in living memory but guess who will be called upon when the ball starts getting belted out of shape due to wayward junk being bowled...Any guesses, yes, Mr. Siddle. He could well come back with a couple more little subltleties to his game, a fraction more pace, 30-31 years of age and be remembered as one of the best test bowlers in Australias history. He only needs a couple more solid years to be in that realm so dont write him off. If Australia never needs P.Siddle again it will have to be due to gaining and holding number one ranking for years because if we dont do that we will definately need him...His diet and lifestyle will ensure that he is always fit and his experience and reliability will be needed in the future. I think there are a few supporters who are a little ahead of themselves with idea that all these talented bowlers will somehow form a bowling unit the likes of which peter siddle has consistantly created. Hes not a liability, hes a very effective and dependable cricketer, and I garantee boof is a smart enough man to keep him right there in case one of the trump cards lets him down
Adsa
Guest
I have enjoyed watching him bowl since debut, and he never held back just like Merv, if it is his last series then good on him for going out a winner, he was at the end of some floggings for a while.
Brendon the 1st
Guest
Who cares what you do in your life mate, your opinion on sport holds no more weight.
TheTruth
Guest
Yup, the fact he has to eat 20 bananas a day, says that he is burning a bucketload. If i ate 20 bananas a day, I dread to think what that would do to my body
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Basically, you have to do a hell of a lot with the ball to get away with bowling in the low-130s in test cricket. Chaminda Vaas did it very well, but not too many have pulled it off in recent times. It's one of the reasons why you see plenty of bowlers with good first class figures who aren't ever really given a chance at test level. You can get away with that sort of pace and often do well with it at first class level, but more often the lack of pace makes it very difficult to make the step up. Siddle definitely doesn't do all that much with the ball, nowhere near enough to give the batsmen that extra bit of time to play. The other thing is that Siddle doesn't have a lot of time to get it back, because guys like Pattinson, Cummins, Starc and Bird are all back from injuries and they lead a serious procession of quality young quicks in Australia all pushing to get into the test squad.
JGK
Roar Guru
Siddle's record by Test in the series (sorry for the formatting): Mat Inns W Ave SR 1st match in series 16 32 59 29.59 61.4 2nd match in series 16 30 53 37.71 69.2 3rd match in series 11 19 46 19.76 48.1 4th match in series 6 10 22 21.63 46 5th match in series 4 7 8 49 87.7
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I don't know that his drop in pace can be attributed to just trying to keep it tight at the other end for Johnson and Harris considering Boof basically said he needed to find that extra pace and that was a significant factor in him being dropped. If he was just taking it easy to keep it tight, then Boof telling him that would see his next spell suddenly in the mid-140s. And as you point out, it's once thing to be a vegan for many years and work out how to do what you need to do, but to suddenly change to a vegan diet can easily see you not getting all the nutrition you need, especially as an elite sportsman who relies on speed and power, which generally involves burning a lot of calories and really needing to replace a lot more than your average person. It's a huge change to make to your diet to be able to pull it off without missing out on anything.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I can't answer that one way or another having not played in a test series as a fast bowler. I was thinking that Siddle seems to always do his best at the start of series, but thought I'd actually check the stats out rather than going on gut feel, and that doesn't really stand up. He does poorly in the second and fifth tests of series, but his two best averages are the 3rd and 4th tests of a series. So that doesn't necessarily stand up. Although, that being said, if we are talking about his new vege diet, that's a recent thing, so can't really use stats to detect a trend of that.
Brendon
Guest
I dont see why not. Cricket is so much more professional and we know so much more about fitness than we did in the amateur days. I don't think theres any test matches until October against Pakistan in the UAE. Time for Siddle to work on his bowling and if he doesnt tour there hes got the early Shield matches to impress. How many thought Johnson would be where he is now ? (I had written him off as a test bowler) Granted Siddle doesnt have the talent of Johnson
Lindommer
Guest
No Coulter-Nile in the fast bowlers' stakes?
Aransan
Guest
Chris, do express bowlers gradually lose fitness when playing a test series? If this is true Siddle might start off at peak fitness/strength but have more trouble in attempting to maintain that with his diet. One would think that the dietary requirements of a fast bowler would be pretty extreme and perhaps hasn't been taken fully into account in the vegan diet that Siddle has been adhering to.
t-rex
Guest
I was only kidding. My moniker is "T-Rex" so I thought it was appropriate to respond to a self confessed vegan. I think it is obvious that Sids has lost body weight but I don't think anyone seriously thinks his form is a result of his lifestyle.
Showbags
Guest
Not a 100% sure about that. His Mrs is an animal rights advocate so it may mean him choosing between his Mrs and a Baggy Green. And you can quite easily get adequate protein in a Vegan diet. I've been doing it for many years but newer Vegans can struggle to adapt quickly enough and know what sort of proteins sources there are. His fitness is 1000x better than it was though. Don't hear many people mentioning that. He has dropped pace but I think it is as much about trying to support Johnson/Harris than anything to do with his diet. He knows that he needs to keep the pressure on for Johnson/Harris at the other end, and he is doing a great job of that imo.
Showbags
Guest
That's not the point. I said "two of their best" not two of the best ever. The fact that two of their best were Vegetarian and better than most of their meat eating counterparts from the same country was what I was saying. India doesn't have many great fast bowlers but Srinath to average just over 30 while playing most of his career in India is the equivalent of an Australian averaging 27-28 imo. He was a good bowler (Prasad wasn't that great though).
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Agreed. He is looking a lot slimmer, and his pace has been down all summer. The fact that the timing of that went along with him saying he'd gone all vege certainly gives rise to the suggestion that a bit more iron and protein in his diet may be helpful. But who knows what it is. Siddle to me has never seemed like one of those naturally quick bowlers, guys like Lee and Steyn who are lithe, slim figures who just propel the ball at speed from their teenage years, but rather the sort of bowler who more had to put in the hard yards at the gym really building some muscle and fast-twitch fibres to get the ball coming out quicker. If that's the case, then maintaining that sort of pace requires a lot more work, and changes to diet or exercise regimes could have a major impact in pace.
casper
Guest
Probably gone but not forgotten!! A great servant for the cause but you can't carry 130k bowlers, we've already got watto & he'll possibly make way for a similar style allrounder soon enough. The ones who can bat are faulkner, cutting & henriques but none have yet proved their worth for that spot. Based on technique, i'd like to see cutting concentrate on his batting for a season because he could be anything, not just a slogger. I noticed that Bird got wickets in the recent shield game & he's of a similar mould to siddle, but probably a bit quicker. Cummins is the one we all hope will recover because he could be anything, especially with our two pace mainstays being over 30. In 2 years time, the attack could be Johnson, Pattinson, Cummins with Faulkner as the allrounder. His time out of the game gives Johnson at least 2-3 more years if they don't destroy him with slow pitches across the world.
TheTruth
Guest
I think most are joking. I know I am! But there is no denying that in the last 18 months or so, Siddle has trimmed down significantly and has lost a lot of muscle mass (whether due to his new diet or not) and I do tend to think this has effected his pace.
twodogs
Guest
Gorillas eat bananas too and they're bloody strong. But then again, they don't bowl either.
ozinsa
Guest
Steady, precious.
Johnno
Guest
Showbags, you need to get laid.