Australia vs South Africa: Peter Siddle ruled out of 2nd Test

Joe Mennie could make his Test debut in the second Test against South Africa, while Jackson Bird has been called up as cover.

Peter Siddle picked up three wickets in the first Test against South Africa © Getty Images

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle has been ruled of the second Test against South Africa, scheduled to be played at Hobart, beginning from November 12. Siddle’s injury will give Joe Mennie an opportunity to make his Test debut. Australia have also included fast bowler Jackson Bird as cover. Since Bird was not part of the initial squad, Mennie is likely to team up with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. Mennie was named the 12th man for the Perth Test, but was released to play a Sheffield Shield match. Siddle returned to the Australian team after a long lay-off, after he suffered a stress fracture on the back after Australia’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. Full Cricket Scorecard: Australia vs South Africa 2nd Test at Hobart

“Peter Siddle had some lower back soreness at the conclusion of the first Test match in Perth,” Australia’s team physio David Beakley said. “Whilst we expect bowlers to be sore after Test matches, this was slightly worse than we expected and given that he was returning from a significant back injury, we organised some scans today. The scans demonstrated some low grade bone oedema around his old stress fracture that is likely to be a flare-up of his previous lower back injury. We are hopeful that this will resolve relatively quickly, but have withdrawn him from the squad for the second Test match in Hobart. We will monitor his recovery and have a better idea of when he will return to play in the next week or so,” Beakley added, according to espncricinfo.com.