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Australian fast bowler, Peter Siddle, has picked his all-time opponent XI, during a recent interaction. Siddle has been one of the spearheads of Baggy Greens pace attack in the past.
The workhorse of Australian cricket has 221 Test scalps in his career, in 67 matches. Siddle bowled to some of the most formidable batting lineups around the world.
Out of them, left-handed opening batsmen Alastair Cook and Graeme Smith feature on top of Siddle’s opponent XI of all time. The two led the way for England and South Africa respectively at the top of the order.
“Two lefties… obviously great players… excellent captains in their own rights. But yeah, otherwise tough opponents whenever we came up against them,” Siddle told cricket.com.au.
Coming in at number three is Sri Lankan top-scorer in all formats, Kumar Sangakkara, who even batted at his favourite position for the country. However, Siddle did not hand the wicket-keeping duties to Sangakkara.
“Kumar Sangakkara at No.3. He is not the wicket-keeper of the side, and that is why he is batting at three,” said Siddle.
The two Indians in Siddle’s lineup are Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and two-time World-Cup winning captain MS Dhoni.
“Sachin to be my first Test wicket was really really amazing. He was on a few runs by then too. All in all just to get my first Test wicket you know. I had to wait too long, once I did it felt good,” the 35-year-old said about Tendulkar.
The fifth and sixth position in the batting order is occupied South African masterclass of Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers.
“I nearly forgot to put this man in the team, but Jacques Kallis comes in at No.6. If you are a bowler, you will be very happy with his stats. If you are a batter you will still be very happy with his stats. He has got almost the same number or just under the number of wickets as Brett Lee,” added Siddle.
Perhaps two greatest Test bowlers of his generation, James Anderson and Dale Steyn with 1023 wickets between them, are the strike bowlers in Siddle’s list. Meanwhile, England’s Headingley hero Ben Stokes was named as 12th man in the lineup.
Peter Siddle’s all-time opponent XI:
Alastair Cook, Graeme Smith, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachin Tendulkar, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, MS Dhoni, Stuart Broad, Dale Steyn, Rangana Herath, James Anderson.
