Published: Aug 19, 2015, 09:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 19, 2015, 12:10 AM (IST)
Peter Siddle sat helplessly on the sidelines watching his team suffer one defeat after another during Ashes 2015. The decision to give youngsters the go-ahead ahead of an ageing bowler who has dropped pace significantly was probably a just one, but now it is probably time to give him one last chance to dish out what he has at the highest level. Rishad D’Souza feels there is reason to believe that Siddle will grab the opportunity with both hands, perform with renewed purpose, and may even bowl his team to a face-saving victory.
Though selected for Ashes 2015 squad, Peter Siddle has done nothing beyond warming the bench in the first four Tests of a series that has largely witnessed Australia’s humiliation. Australia have persisted with the likes of Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood for their pace bowling needs. However, the trio has failed to flourish. READ: England should pick James Anderson for fifth Ashes 2015 Test at The Oval
Siddle has watched in the dual agony of being repeatedly snubbed and his team crumbling to crushing defeats. Before the tour began, it was established that Siddle was going to be a mere passenger if things went right for Australia. With the scoreline reading 1-3 against the visitors that is obviously not the case.
Given how this tour has panned out so far, the only fair thing to do now is to give Siddle a place in the playing eleven. Hazlewood came into the tour with a whole lot of promise after an excellent tour of West Indies where he was accurate and exploited the movement on offer to his advantage. Surprisingly, his accuracy went for a toss in England, and even in the most conducive of conditions looked far from threatening. READ: Ashes 2015: Alastair Cook urges England to pile more misery for Australia in final Test
The probability that Hazlewood will be get the butt in the final Test is extremely high, but the question with greater scope for speculation is whether the vacant spot created by axing Hazlewood will be taken by Pat Cummins or Siddle. Unfortunately for Siddle, the stacks seem heavily placed in favour of the 23-year old Cummins.
Cummins is a bowler of great ability and in the only Test he played (almost four years ago) he picked seven wickets in South Africa. However, repeated injury sabotaged his Test-playing ambitions. Over the past two years prior to this Ashes, Cummins has not even played First-Class cricket. However, in the most recent match against Northamptonshire he showed that he has the gas for big performances. READ: Ashes 2015: James Anderson’s return to 5th Test gets boost following return to practice session
While Siddle went wicketless, Cummins took three wickets at Northants. When Australia were staring down a humiliating possibility of having to follow on against a county side, Cummins rescued his side with the bat and top-scored with a fighting undefeated 82 which helped his side save some face. Yet, to introduce a youngster, especially one prone to injury, in an Ashes Test may not be a good idea.
England tried to launch Boyd Rankin’s Test career by giving him a shot at SCG during their disgraceful Ashes tour of Australia in 2013-14. All that came off it was further misery. Not only was Rankin ineffective, he even suffered injury possibly from trying too hard. If something similar happens with Cummins, it will be highly detrimental to his long-term Test career (though, to be honest, he has played a mere eight First-Class matches in almost five years.)
Siddle, on the other hand, is a workhorse; though he won’t always pick wickets, he has the knack to make important breakthroughs every now and again. He has a heavy cushioning of experience in these conditions to aid him and is also mentally strong to endure failure. The re-launch of Cummins’ career can wait a year, when he can play in the comfort of home advantage. But for the daunting task that awaits Australia in the final Test, Siddle is the man.
(Rishad D’Souza, a reporter with CricketCountry, gave up hopes of playing Test cricket after a poor gully-cricket career. He now reports on the sport. You can follow @RDcric on Twitter)
