Melbourne, Dec 30 (IANS) Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle says his team is open to an all-pace attack for the second Test against India in Sydney though the strategy could sometimes backfire.
Siddle, who picked up six wickets in the first Test including the prized ones of Sachin Tendulkar, said the team management would take the decision on the bowling attack depending on the nature of the wicket at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia went in with three pacers and a spinner in Nathan Lyon at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
‘The wicket has changed a bit and become better for the bowlers. It can go both ways (the decision to go with all-pace attack),’ Siddle told reporters here Friday.
‘I have played in times like Perth (in the Ashes last year) where it has worked well and then I played in The Oval Test match when it didn’t work well for us. It can go either way. It just depends on the day, it depends what the selectors are thinking at the time. There is still a lot of time left to look at the wicket before we know which way we will go,’ he said ahead of the second Test beginning Tuesday.
The pace trio of Siddle, James Pattinson and Ben Hilfenhaus kept coming hard at fames Indian batting line-up, bowling them out for 169 in their second innings to put them 1-0 in the four-match series.
Siddle said they are focussed on maintaining the same kind of pressure at Sydney.
‘I think it is probably the pressure we built that was a bit of the cause of that (India’s batting collapse,’ Siddle said.
‘The short bowling to give them a bit of pressure, get them mixed up, that paid off at the start. That helps with giving them a problem in terms of moving their feet. It can go either way, but I think the pressure that we built up from both ends consistently helped.’
