Dubai: Peter Siddle, who counts Sachin Tendulkar as his maiden Test wicket, is keen to swell his tally and prove his mettle as a fine allrounder.
The 29-year-old Australian pacer, now 12 wickets short of his 200th Test wicket, is hungry to prove that he remains a genuine match-winner as the two-Test series against Pakistan is all set to get under way from Wednesday.
Coach Darren Lehman had dropped Siddle after the final Test of Australia’s tour of South Africa, asking him to gain strength and pace — and Siddle feels he is now up for the challenge.
In the four-day match against Pakistan A at Sharjah, Siddle bowled impressively and scored a fighting 41 in the second innings. Asked how keen he is to be back in the playing eleven, he said: “It means everything to me. You dream of playing cricket for your country and I have done that 53 times and so to miss out was disappointing.”
Siddle went on to reveal how he faced up to the setback and worked harder. “I am not one to dwell on getting dropped. If you keep thinking about that and go wincing about or complaining, I am not going to improve or get better.
“People always think that I don’t care and that doesn’t really worry me that much, but it does. I might as well focus on the things that will get me back in there. That is what I did and worked out things that I need to change with my bowling and preparation.
“I have improved in the last six to eight months and feeling good and obviously glad to be back around the side and just feeling happy with that. For me it was good little kick in the back side to find out those things I need to freshen up first and foremost and change everything and get back to where I want to be and I think I am back to that stage now.”
Asked whether he has been bowling faster than before, Siddle said: “You never really know because it is hard to judge but I am happy to get the red ball back in the hand after playing a few white ball practice matches back home. I feel comfortable in the middle and I felt good rhythm with my run-up [at Sharjah] and it was a good preparation for the Tests.”
While the four-day match was only a practice match, Siddle is not happy about Australia getting defeated. “You never want to lose a match. It was disappointing and that is sure as we never want to lose any match we are playing, be it a practice match or a tour match, whether it is first class standard or a Test match side. It was disappointing for the result but all in all we did get to play everyone in the squad and, sometimes, you don’t get that opportunity in a lot of tours. Everyone got an opportunity to bowl in the middle and bat out in the middle and get some time out in the field have a crack and that was the good thing about it,” he said.
Siddle also revealed that the Australian team is not worried about the nature of the wicket that awaits them, be it suitable for spin or pace. He said his team has the right combination to handle whatever challenges it faces. “The boys are prepared for it. It is another challenge for us as a team to keep pushing to get back to No.1,” he said.
