There’s a good vibe around the group with Justin Langer in charge, says Peter Siddle, the paceman who has a chance for a Test comeback after a gap of close to two years.
Siddle played the last of his 62 Tests back in November 2016. Now, in the absence of injured quicks Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, Siddle is the only experienced paceman apart from Mitchell Starc for the first Test against Pakistan in Dubai, starting 7 October.
“Probably the toughest conditions that we’ve come across in world cricket. But it’s enjoyable too. For me, personally, in the UK the last six months, it’s nice to get some warm weather,” joked Siddle, who was busy with Essex till recently.
“Conditions are going to be what gets rolled up on the day. That’s always the one here, you wait until the first game, the first day to see what the wickets are going to really look like,” he said.
“The Dubai wicket has had a lot of cricket played on it this Asia Cup. So you can see the whole square’s been used a lot more. The previous series when we came here, the wickets was a bit more flatter, so it took a few days to actually break up. But this series it looks like it will break up a lot earlier, so spin is going to play a part.
“For me, it’s going to be similar to what I do in Australia, hold up an end, building pressure, and put the batsman under a lot of pressure to generate those wickets. So I don’t think my plan changes a hell of a lot from different conditions. Probably more so here, it’s about hitting the stumps, making them play a lot more, and having the fielders in the right positions.”
