The training sticks: Siddle
First Published : 28 Jan 2012, 16:17
Last Modified : 28 Jan 2012, 10:47
Adelaide, Jan 28: Australian medium pacer Peter Siddle received the Man-of-the-Match award for his six-wicket haul in the last Test match against India at the Adelaide Oval. The bowler credited coach Mickey Arthur for the improvement in his bowling over the past one year at the presentation ceremony.
Excerpts:
On whether he was bowling better than before as his performance on a batting track was better than that on bowling wickets in previous games
No, probably I was a bit unlucky [earlier]. I am happy for the reward. The boys have been good. The bowling unit’s been superb. We have got the job done together and I was lucky to get the rewards here. […] The batting was superb again.
On working together as a bowling team
When I came in in the summer, that’s what we were looking at – bowling partnerships. We stuck to that in every Test […] We got the rewards and set [the stage] for the batters to do their job and they did it superbly as well.
On the biggest improvement in him in the last twelve months
Probably the bowling length, a little bit of shape there, patience and consistency, and sticking to the plan and not varying from that […] And getting the results at the end of the day.
On whether his spell on Day 4, when he got VVS Laxman, was his best in recent times
For the conditions yes, the patience. I’ve been a little unlucky at times but yes, it was one of the wickets where you have to charge in and bang the wicket and put it in. That’s what I tried doing at my end and I was lucky enough that I kept it under control and nothing silly happened. […] I put pressure on them and keep building it.
On the most memorable moment of the series
Like [Michael] Clarke said, it’s the training that sticks in my mind. That’s what we speak about and everyone works hard but we know what to emphasise and it sticks; that’s the big thing that [coach] Mickey [Arthur] brought to the group – to challenge us. When in the nets, that is the same as game time, and that’s the way we practiced. As bowlers, we’ve charged in from ball one and attacked the batsman with bouncers, whichever way we could. We’ve prepare to bowl and that’s the way we have gone about it. That’s what gets us ready for big critical moments of the match; the way we prepare and stick to it in the nets.
