Peter Siddle’s verdict on which Australian quick should miss Ashes series opener

Who of Scott Boland, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood should play the first Ashes Test alongside Pat Cummins? Former Australian paceman Peter Siddle tells DANIEL CHERNY.

Josh Hazlewood should replace Mitchell Starc for the first Test provided there is any grass on the Edgbaston wicket, according to Ashes veteran Peter Siddle.

Advocating the type of squad mentality that underpinned Australia’s ability to retain the urn in England four years ago, Siddle said Starc would have a role to play at some stage in the series but that Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland should play in Birmingham unless the deck is particularly dry.

Siddle, 38, took 50 wickets at 30.30 in 14 Tests on UK soil, the last of which came in 2019.

The Victorian said this week that Hazlewood’s excellent 2019 series, in which he took 20 wickets at 21.85 after being bypassed for the Edgbaston opener, meant it would be difficult not to pick him this time around as long as he was fit and the conditions suited.

Hazlewood bowled on Sunday and is set to be declared available following a minor side issue.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both appear to have dropped behind Scott Boland in the Ashes pecking order. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“I think there‘s enough varying differences in wickets that we’ll play on in the series that will give different guys opportunities in different conditions and I think yeah, it’s going to be probably not dissimilar to 2019 in the fact that you pick the best bowlers for those conditions on that day, and for that week,” Siddle told CODE Sports.

“It could change for the next one and I think yeah, if we‘re going on that, Edgbaston and 2019, I guess Hoff (Hazlewood) is a hot favourite to come back in, obviously, barring fitness. If he’s fully fit, he’s going to be a hard one to leave out after the series that he had back in back in ‘19.

“Starcy definitely the one to miss initially, if the conditions suit, though, because Starcy‘s availability and his skill sets and what he can do on the drier, flatter wickets, like we saw at Old Trafford last time around in ‘19. Edgbaston can be like that as well.“

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon took a close look at the Edgbaston deck on Tuesday after Australia’s first nets session since arriving in Birmingham. While there was little hint of greenery, from afar there did appear to be plenty of brown grass covering the pitch.

“If the wicket is looking like it‘s going to be a bit drier, then maybe it is a bit more suited to Starcy playing,” Siddle said.

“But if there‘s any bit of grass on it which I think it will be, I think yeah, Hoff (Hazlewood) probably has to come in for him and just go with our best line-up for those conditions, and I think that would be it, if the wicket does have a bit in it.”

Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc with the ICC World Test Championship mace. Picture: Ryan Pierse-ICC/ICC via Getty Images

Siddle, who is still playing county cricket with Somerset – albeit currently sidelined by a fractured finger – says Starc’s ability to extract pace from drier pitches means selectors should again identify a spot for him in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, which was the sole rubber in which Starc played last time.

“My boys (Somerset) played up there (in May) and it was dry and flat, a pretty boring game, and that’s how it tends to be, so if there’s going to be one definite, that’s probably the definite one.”

Siddle said he wanted the Australians to embrace what had worked for them four years ago, a series in which Cummins was the only paceman to play all five Tests as Hazlewood, Starc, Siddle and James Pattinson all contributed.

Michael Neser, who was also in the 2019 squad, is in this year’s party as well, while Sean Abbott is on standby at Surrey.

This will be the first away Ashes series Siddle hasn’t played since 2005. He said he was fascinated to see how England’s Bazball game fared against Australia’s quicks.

“Now that I’m a spectator and just a fan from the outsider’s point of view, it’s going to be very exciting.”

Originally published as Peter Siddle’s verdict on which Australian quick should miss Ashes series opener