15 Facts about Peter Siddle - The Workhorse of the Australian Pace Attack

Peter Siddle is a specialist right arm fast medium bowler. Described as “the famous vegan paceman,” Siddle is a hardworking and hostile fast bowler. Grueling workloads don’t affect him in any way. He can charge in aggressively and bowl long spells. Such qualities make Siddle a very reliable option. He has become a consistent part of the Australian Test team since 2008. He is one of the leading fast bowlers in Australia at present but is largely considered as a Test match specialist. Injuries may have troubled him from time to time, but Pete has come back strongly every time.

1. Birth:

Peter Matthew Siddle was born in Traralgon, Victoria. He grew up in Morwell, Gippsland, and began playing cricket at the age of 14 for the Latrobe Cricket Club.

2. Talented teen:

Peter Siddle took 11/47 in a state match at the U-17 level and broke the Victorian state record set by John Scholes.

3. Early career:

In 2003, Siddle attended the Australian Cricket Academy, he made his first-class debut for Victoria against the touring West Indies in November 2005. He was offered a full contract by Victoria the following year.

4. Baggy Green:

He made his Test debut at Mohali and returned with match figures of 4/176. His first delivery on that tour was a bouncer which hit Gautam Gambhir on his head.

5. Special wicket to begin his career:

Sachin Tendulkar was batting in full flow and had put up a big partnership with Sourav Ganguly. However, Siddle, after toiling hard throughout the day, finally tasted success when he got Sachin Tendulkar caught at first slip. It was, obviously, a special moment for the debutant as Tendulkar became his first Test wicket!

6. A hattrick on his birthday:

On November 25, 2010, Siddle became the first man in the history of the game to take a Test hat-trick on his birthday. The opening day of the Ashes 2010/11 in Brisbane saw an interesting fight between bat and ball. England was at 197 for four. That was when, Siddle had Alastair Cook caught behind for 67, Matt Prior was beaten to be clean bowled and then Stuart Broad was hit plumb in front. Siddle finished with 6 for 54, his best Test figures as England were eventually bowled out for 260.

Also, Read: 11 Cricketers who achieved special laurels on their birthdays

7. Promising fast bowler:

Siddle was named the ICC emerging player for the year 2009.

8. Milestones:

Siddle took his 100th Test wicket at the SCG on 3 January 2012 in the second Test of Australia’s home series against India and is just two wickets short of 200 Test wickets.

9. Bunnies:

Siddle has had the better of Englishmen Matt Prior and Kevin Pietersen. He had dismissed Prior 11 times and Pietersen 10 times in Test cricket.

10. Gritty tail ender:

On the 24th of March 2013, batting on a tough surface at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Siddle hit fifties in each innings (51 and 50). This made him the first man to score two fifties while batting at No. 9 in a Test match. Since then, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar has emulated this performance after he hit 58 and 63 not out against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in 2014.

11. A vegetarian:

In 2012, Siddle made a decision to give up all meat products and turned vegetarian. He decided to do it as his girlfriend, Anna Weatherlake, an animal advocate, had been a vegetarian. Siddle has dropped pace recently and some blamed it on the fact that he does not eat meat products. However, he has said that it has helped his fitness and helps him recover quickly during matches.

12. Banana diet:

Peter Siddle consumes 15 bananas every day to make up for cutting down meat from his diet.

13. Nicknames:

Siddle is also known as “Sid Vicious” and “Banana man” by his teammates and colleagues.

14. Bicentenary celebration match:

In July 2014, he played for the Rest of the World XI side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord’s.

15. Domestic teams:

Siddle currently plays for Victoria in first-class cricket and Melbourne Renegades in his country’s premier T20 Tournament Big Bash League.