Stranded cricketer Peter Siddle awaits a new start in Tasmania
He has his trusty bike to keep him company and enough fruit to keep a zoo going, but not even evergreen fast bowler Peter Siddle could have envisaged the latest chapter in his long, storied cricket career.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There are far worse places for a fast bowler than Hobart this time of year, but it’s hard to think of any worse than where Peter Siddle finds himself stuck for the next two weeks.
The former Test star is confined in an airport hotel a few hundred metres from the end of the runway and a fortnight from human contact — it is handy for an overnight stay when you’ve got an early morning plane and an overnight bag, horrible for anything longer.
Siddle felt like a student heading off on an adventure when he packed his car with his worldly possessions, strapped his bike to the top of its roof, kissed his wife and drove down to catch the overnight ferry from Melbourne to Hobart on Saturday night.
“I haven’t physically seen anyone since I arrived,” Siddle said when The Australian called on Monday. “Even when they bring the meals to my door they ring the bell and leave, by the time I open the door they’re gone. It hasn’t been too bad so far but ask me again at the end of the week.”
A window onto a small courtyard space has allowed the odd glimpse of a passing human.
“There’s a few balls in one of my bags so maybe I can get out there and bowl some into the fence,” he said.
“The hotel is basically shut down for quarantine people but there is a bit of space in the car park where we can book a time to get some fresh air out there.
“It’s a little like being in prison. Obviously it’s not that bad and considering what’s happening to a lot of other people at home I’ve got it good.
“It is exciting to be a little bit closer to catching up with the Tassie boys, but it’s unsettling to leave family and friends behind in Melbourne at a time like this.”
Siddle has set the bicycle up on rollers and will use that to maintain some level of fitness before they unlock his hotel room door and allow him down for his first pre-season with Tasmania.
The veteran loaded up his training in the past month and has plenty of time before the cricket starts. His pre-season experience might be a test case for former teammates like Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who could find themselves similarly confined after stints in the UK, IPL or both in the next few months.
The hotel’s prepared meals — vegan of course — Siddle says are fine, he’s packed his blender and ordered enough vegetables and fruit from the local supermarket to keep a small zoo going.
“I was planning to come down with my wife when the quarantine lifted on July 24, she was going to help me settle in, but then Victorians got banned so that changed everything,” Siddle told The Australian. “I’ve had to get government approval just to come and go into quarantine and she’s been left behind.”
The cheerful fast bowler is excited to be starting another chapter in a long, storied cricket career, a season after he retired from the international game and a few months before his 36th birthday.
Siddle, who made his first class debut with Victoria in 2005 and his Australian Test debut three years later, was lured south when Tasmania offered a two-year contract and the chance to segue into a coaching career.
Fit and still hungry for the game, he plans to spend 2021 at Essex.
MORE CRICKET
SIDDLE CALLS TIME ON INTERNATIONAL CRICKET
TASSIE, HERE I COME: SIDDLE TO PACK HIS BAGS
Originally published as Stranded cricketer Peter Siddle awaits a new start in Tasmania