Peter Siddle wants Australia to rotate fast bowlers during Ashes
Former pacer Peter Siddle has urged Australia to rotate their fast bowlers during the upcoming Ashes series against England to keep them fresh.
According to Siddle, Australia must not make the mistake of playing all the fast bowlers in all the Tests, as they did against India.
The Aussies will begin their home Test summer with a one-off Test against Afghanistan from November 27 at the Blundstone Arena. This will be followed by the five-match Ashes, starting at The Gabba on December 8.
Siddle was quoted as telling cricket.com.au:
"We've seen with the last two series against India in Australia, if there isn't a really dominant force then it does take time to bowl the opposition out and a long innings does take a toll on individuals. So I think we're going to have to be prepared to maybe rotate and have guys ready to go."
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitch Starc featured in the four-match Test series against India. But despite bowling the visitors out for 36 in Adelaide, Australia ended up conceding the series 1-2.
According to Siddle, with James Pattinson and Michael Neser available as good backup pacers, Australia should look to rotate their pacers around.
He pointed to the 2019 Ashes in England, where he played three games, Starc one, and Cummins was the only pacer who played all the matches. Siddle explained:
"We had Patto (Pattinson) and Ness (Neser) in and around that group waiting for an opportunity and when you've got blokes … ready to go, (playing) one Test here and there, similar to what we did in the Ashes over in England (in 2019), I think that's a good look at the summer and how we can go about it."
Ashes 2019 saw Australia adopt a completely different approach from 2013 when Siddle was part of a three-man pace attack that played all five Tests and whitewashed England 5-0. Mitchell Johnson took a whopping 37 wickets during that series.
According to Siddle, though, Johnson’s brilliance made life easier for the other pacers during that particular Ashes. He recalled:
"We were blessed in that series (in 2013-14) with the series that Mitch had. He took so many wickets so fast for us that we weren't bowling a hell of a lot of overs. We could get away with it and there was a good shared wicket-taking list where we all contributed where we had to. How dominant he was, it made it a lot easier on the rest of us.”
Rotation policy will keep Australia’s fast bowlers hungry: Peter Siddle
While Siddle admitted that asking bowlers to rest during a massive event like the Ashes can be difficult, he opined that the policy could work in Australia’s favor.
"It keeps guys hungry as well, when you miss out on opportunities. Mitch (Starc) was flying (in 2019), he was looking good, he was bowling well, but so was everyone else. When the whole bowling group is strong and they get along well and they're happy with everyone's success and how guys a going, I think it works well.
"Sometimes you might not feel like you need a rest, but you have that one week off and you hit the ground running harder the next game and actually perform better than you would have in the previous one.”
Australia and England ended Ashes 2019 level on 2-2. However, the Aussies retained the urn on the basis of having won the previous edition.