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Second fiddle Siddle under scrutiny

The last Test of Australia's home summer is a dead rubber but for several members of Ricky Ponting's side, it's anything but

Peter Siddle has the support of Ricky Ponting, who isn't worried about how many wickets his fast bowler takes  •  Getty Images

Peter Siddle has the support of Ricky Ponting, who isn't worried about how many wickets his fast bowler takes  •  Getty Images

The last Test of Australia's home summer is a dead rubber but for several members of Ricky Ponting's side, it's anything but. Marcus North is barely clinging on to his No. 6 spot, Peter Siddle needs wickets to ensure he remains a first-choice bowler, and Ponting himself is in danger of completing his leanest home Test summer in a decade.
It means that, with a tour of New Zealand two months away, there are plenty of reasons for the Australians not to ease up as they search for a 3-0 cleansweep over Pakistan. Victory in Hobart would give Australia five wins from six Tests this season but they have relied heavily on Shane Watson, Simon Katich and Michael Hussey for runs, while the wickets have come primarily from three of their four bowlers.
Consider this: Nathan Hauritz has scored more Test runs than North this summer and has a better batting average than both North and Ponting. In the same period, Siddle has one more wicket than Ben Hilfenhaus, who only played the first Test of the season.
Hilfenhaus' knee injury has let the selectors avoid the decision on whether to drop Siddle, a question that will be raised in the lead-up to New Zealand. Ponting defended the Victorian fast man, whose six wickets for the summer have come at 68.33, while Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger and Hauritz have each collected 20-plus victims.
"I'm not that worried about the wicket column next to his name because what he's doing at the moment is forming part of a really good bowling attack," Ponting said. "That's one thing that I've stressed with the selectors the last couple of years - it's about making sure we pick an attack and not just trying to look at the next best bowler that's going around the scene. I think it's important that the bowlers in the line-up really complement each other well.
"Sids has had to do the bullocking sort of work and charging from one end and pretty much keep the run-rate down and not worry about attacking too much. It could have been a different story last week - he had a chance put down at first slip early on in Sydney and that could have changed things for him but what he's been able to do is still bowl consistently well and bowl good spells. What that does is make life a bit easier for the guy he's bowling in tandem with."
While Siddle can keep running in all day in an effort to turn his results around, North is anxiously aware that one mistake could be enough for the axe to fall. He is a feast-or-famine batsman, who 13 times in Tests has been out for less than 20, six times has made 60-plus, but only once has scored in the 20-60 range.
Most worryingly for North, he has not passed 10 in his past four innings and is not yet well-enough established in the side to sustain a prolonged period of poor form
Most worryingly for North, he has not passed 10 in his past four innings and is not yet well-enough established in the side to sustain a prolonged period of poor form. Ponting, who himself has made only two half-centuries for the season, can sympathise with North and said the No. 6 had not been told that Hobart was a make-or-break match for him.
"We sat down during the second innings of the Sydney Test match last week together," Ponting said. "I think we're both feeling a bit the same about the game at the moment, it feels like the game has got hold of us both a little bit and won't let us go. Talking to him about it, it feels like every little mistake that we've made has tended to mean that we're out.
"But it's probably only a couple of games for him. It's not that long ago that he was our standout batsman in our line-up. If you look back at the Ashes, he was our best player right through the Ashes series and started the summer well in Brisbane. It's only a couple of games ago that he was on top of his game and that's how quickly it can change."
North was one of Australia's best performers during the Ashes but with only five Tests - Hobart, two in New Zealand, and two against Pakistan in England - until the return series, he is no certainty to be part of the push to regain the urn. However, Ponting said results like the unexpected triumph in Sydney have given Australia's players in general a greater feeling that they belong at Test level.
"There's a lot more self-belief around the side than there probably was at the start of this summer," he said. "It's one thing we've lacked a little bit in the last couple of years. We've had moments in most Test matches that we've played in the last couple of years to put sides away and haven't been able to do it. A lot of that comes down to that inner belief and self-belief that you've got the ability to get the job done."
Nobody can question Ponting's self-belief. This is the perfect time for North and Siddle to display it as well.

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo