Siddle Confident of Playing Return

SIDDLE EYES INDIA

from the Sydney Morning Herald last week

Peter Siddle is confident his back woes aren't a long-term concern and says a handful of games at the tail end of the upcoming Big Bash League season can propel him back into Australia's Test squad for the tour of India early next year.

Siddle, 32, has endured a frustrating year playing just a handful of competitive matches since February when his tour of New Zealand was prematurely ended because of an ankle injury and a back stress fracture. He had ankle surgery and, after a lengthy layoff and rehabilitation period, returned for Victoria early in the domestic summer, exceeding expectations to earn selection in Australia's XI for the first Test against South Africa in Perth.

However as Australia plummeted to a heavy defeat, Siddle toiled for 38 overs in the match with little rest, and the back issues returned. He hasn't played since, and having been ruled out of the rest of the Australian Test summer, isn't likely to play for the Melbourne Renegades until the second half of the BBL.

Yet Siddle remains optimistic about his prospects of joining the touring party for India, even though he is unlikely to have another chance to bowl with the red ball before the squad departs for Asia. Instead he thinks strong showings in the BBL and a couple of pre-series tour matches can be enough preparation for his return to the Test XI.

"We've got a couple of tour matches so it's going to come down to that," Siddle said.

"They have to pick me in the squad, and play those tour matches, to see where I'm at. It comes down to how I'm feeling over the next month and a bit."

While he is loosely aiming to return against the Sydney Sixers on January 9, the 62-Test veteran is trying not to make too many predictions, instead focusing on small steps on his latest comeback trail, the flame of quick recall remains alive.

"Who knows? You don't know who they're going to pick for this type of trip.

"We'll see what happens. But ideally that would be the case. Get fit enough and strong enough to be in a position that I can go."

Injury-prone speedsters Pat Cummins and James Pattinson have downplayed their chances of playing in India, leaving Siddle in the frame behind incumbent quicks Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird and the uncapped Chadd Sayers – who has been 12th man in Australia's two most recent Tests.

While the idea of Cummins, Pattinson, Hazlewood and Starc enjoying an extended run together in the Test squad excites Australian fans, Siddle – who has defied his detractors before – says the setbacks of his "gap year" 2016 could end up being a blessing for his hopes of international longevity, suggesting that he hoped to play for four or five more years.

Reassuringly, he says his back stress fracture troubles, usually the affliction of younger fast bowlers, aren't going to plague him in the long term, with his issues this year stemming back to his ankle and foot issues from last summer.

"I couldn't land on my front foot. That's what caused my action change. I had to use my back more than my foot," Siddle said.

"There's no cricketing issue really. There's not going to be any long-term problems." Daniel Cherny Sydney Morning Herald