CRICKET

BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT

 

EVER the confidence, ever the smile, Morwell’s Peter Siddle was exactly what to expect when arriving at Traralgon Rovers Cricket Club last week.

In a rare visit back home, the former international cricketer stopped by the Latrobe Valley due to a collaboration between Cricket Australia and Aussie Broadband, providing a special moment for the lucky kids present.

While not at his namesake oval across in Morwell, Siddle stepped onto Duncan Cameron Reserve to give a few words to the Traralgon juniors.

“Nice to be back down here. I don’t get the opportunity to get back as much, so nice to be able to help out,” he told the Express.

Attending Tobruk Street Primary School, Siddle made his first appearance on the local cricket scene as a 12-year-old for Latrobe.

That aspiring boy is now immortalised at the club where he played 34 senior games, including 15 in A Grade between the ages of 14 and 16, with Latrobe’s ground named the ‘Peter Siddle Oval’.

Given his strong connection to Latrobe, Siddle recalls only ever playing against the likes of Rovers and other rival Traralgon teams when picked for representative cricket for the Central Gippsland Cricket Association, well before the merger with Traralgon & District.

“You miss that as a young kid, you enjoyed playing against Traralgon as a Morwell boy and Traralgon (kids) were the same playing against Morwell,” he said.

“From a cricket point of view, you never really played each other until you went to rep games. So it was always big competition.

“It doesn’t matter what sport you play down here in Gippsland, Morwell-Traralgon’s always been a fierce one in any sport.”

With dreams of playing for Australia, Siddle moved to Victorian Premier Cricket club Dandenong, which led to a first class debut for Victoria against a touring West Indies, dismissing opener Devon Smith.

Battling through consistent shoulder injuries, Siddle was an integral part of Victoria’s bowling attack, taking nine wickets in the 2007/08 Sheffield Shield final loss to New South Wales.

Never afraid to set his sights far and wide, Siddle delivered that exact message to the future sporting champions of the region.

“I’ve always lived by ‘no dreams ever too big’, if you don’t have big dreams, you don’t have something big to chase,” he explained.

“You don’t always get there, but you don’t always have to. You still might get to a decent level or a decent place.”

The then 23-year-old was subsequently elevated into Australia’s 15-man squad for the four-Test Indian tour in 2008, as a contingency plan if one of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark or Mitchell Johnson was injured.

Siddle replaced Clark for the second Test, becoming the first and only Latrobe Valley men’s player to debut for Australia.

As Baggy Cap number 403, he played 67 Test matches and took 221 wickets and one glorious birthday hat-trick.

Siddle retired from international cricket following a final stand in the 2019 Ashes series, taking seven wickets in three matches.

Despite being at the tail end of his career, Siddle only gave up first class cricket last year, and recorded a 145.8 km/h delivery for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League (BBL) last season.

It was thought Siddle would retire altogether a few years ago, but he has kept going, and signed on with the Stars for season 2026/27.

He told the Express that he’ll keep kicking along until he knows for certain his time is up.

“I said it was my last about five years ago, so it’s kept going,” Siddle said.

“I think nowadays, I just know I’m pretty much done, so I don’t care when it is … it more comes down to performance.

“If I’m still able to perform at a high level and helping my team, then I’d feel that I’m taking someone’s spot.

“But, as soon as I feel that I’m not performing up to the level that I should be, I’ll be the first one to step aside and let some young fella play.”

Getting the Stars over the line and securing the franchise’s first BBL title is an undeniable factor in his return.

Knowing he’s into the twilight of his illustrious career, Siddle reaffirmed that riding every bump and enjoying every second playing the game is what’s most important.

“I’ve always had fun with it. I’d like to think that’s how it showed on the field. I got aggressive at times, but I tend to always have a smile on my face and I think that showed that I just love doing what I did,” he said.

“I wanted to try and achieve as much as I could, it didn’t matter what level I got to, but I just wanted to be the best I could.

“I know we say it when we’re going through difficult years to have fun, enjoy it and no one really takes it seriously, but that’s what it is.”

After his trip to the Latrobe Valley, Siddle was straight onto a plane, flying over to Belgium to play in the European T20 for the Liege Red Lions, alongside former Test cricketer and Bairnsdale’s Cameron White.