Former Australia pacer Peter Siddle has taken a surprising decision of ending his 15-year long stint with his home state Victoria, as the veteran cricketer has on Friday (May 28) signed a two-year contract with the Tasmanian Tigers for 2020-2021 season in order to “develop his coaching skills”.
The 35-year-old, who retired from international cricket in December with 221 wickets in 67 Tests, made the late-career move from Victoria to the Apple Isle for the 2020/21 season.
Read Also: Cricket Australia expresses interest in hosting T20 World Cup 2021: Report
Siddle, who won two Sheffield Shield titles with Victoria and played 62 matches for his home state since debuting in 2005, has also revealed the reason behind the move, saying he joined the Tigers because of the future career in coaching and the chance to guide Tasmania's young fast bowlers.
He told Cricket Tasmania, “My greatest goal is to come to Tasmania and play good cricket, while hopefully winning a few games which will be my biggest aim. I want to develop my coaching skills further and really help some of the younger boys who have already shown a great amount of talent.”
The paceman continued, “There’s a few players down here that I’ve played a lot of cricket with, and there’s a bunch of younger players that I’m looking forward to playing alongside. It’s a great opportunity for me while I’m still playing to work alongside Griff (coach Adam Griffith). I see this as an exciting venture for me, and it’s something that I am really looking forward to.”
Read Also: ACB relieved as Afghanistan's "historic" Test visit to Australia gets confirmed
He (Griffith) started to look towards the coaching stuff, being able to develop that before you finish up, rather than just coming to an end. When you're an older player, it's always nerve-wracking not knowing whether you're going to get another deal with your home state or any state. To have four states interested in signing me ... it's always nice to feel loved, especially at the back end of my career.”
Siddle signed off by saying, “But it was about making the right decision to help develop me not just as a player at the back end of my career but also looking ahead to the future and what I might move into once my playing days are done.”
(With PTI Inputs)
