Peter Siddle bats for Stuart Broad: The former Australian bowler doesn’t visualize both legendary English seamers playing together in 2021-22 Ashes.
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Former Australia seamer Peter Siddle believes England should play express fast bowlers in Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in tandem to gain advantage on bouncy Australian pitches during the 2021-22 Ashes series.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, 35-year old Siddle opined that the duo has played Test cricket to find a place in England’s Playing XI especially while playing in conditions which don’t offer much swing in the air.
“[Jofra] Archer’s played enough Test matches now, [Mark] Wood’s played enough and I think he’s shown in the previous series over in South Africa, he took a bag of wickets, bowled fast and was consistent.
“They’ve got a good consistent line-up, they bowl in partnerships and build a lot of pressure. We know in any Test team that’s had success, the strength has been the bowlers bowling together, building partnerships and being economical.
“I think they’re definitely building a line-up that could potentially do that here in Australia,” Siddle was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Peter Siddle bats for Stuart Broad playing ahead of James Anderson
Siddle, who continues to play first-class and T20 cricket despite retiring from international cricket last year, further touched upon the debate around England playing the likes of legendary seamers in James Anderson and Stuart Broad over young pacers.
Considering it hard for them to play together in Australia, Siddle batted for Broad having the upper hand against Anderson. If Anderson and Broad board the plane to Australia next year, they will be on their fifth and fourth Ashes tour respectively.
However, both Anderson and Broad receive a dip in their Test numbers when it comes to playing down under. In 18 Tests in Australia, Anderson has picked 60 wickets at an average of 35.43 and a strike rate of 72. On the other hand, Broad’s 34 wickets in 12 Tests have come at an average and strike rate of 37.17 and 75.2 respectively.
By the time the next Ashes series begins, Anderson will be 39 and Broad 35. But age isn’t a concern for Siddle. Swing is. “I think it’s going to be hard for them to both play in the same side in Australia.
“Depending on conditions, I think Broady’s [Stuart Broad] probably got the upper hand – not because of age, that’s got nothing to do with it – but with his skillset, seaming the ball off the deck rather than swinging it through the air.
“There doesn’t tend to be a lot of swing in the air in Australia and I think Jimmy [James Anderson] has struggled with that over the years when he’s toured here. He has had success at different times, but it tended to be because the overhead conditions suited him, and he was able to get the ball swinging.
“But if there’s not as much swing, it’ll be harder to play them both. That’s where the tough call comes; who do you choose out of two guys who have over 500 wickets each and have bowled a lot together and had a lot of success? That’s where the big question is going to come,” Siddle said.
