Peter Siddle

Calcutta: The Australians’ sorry performance in the Test series so far highlights their failure to play as a team. But the good thing about them is that they are not shying away from accepting individual failures.

The latest Aussie to admit that he has not performed to the desired level is fast bowler Peter Siddle. According to Siddle, he needs to step up in Indian conditions. Siddle has toiled hard without striking sufficiently in the first two Tests against India, claiming two wickets at 81, ahead of the third Test, which begins on Thursday, in Mohali.

But with Mohali known to provide some assistance to the faster bowlers, Siddle is hopeful of a good showing. For the record, Siddle made his Test debut in Mohali, in October 2008. The Aussie quick is just two wickets away from surpassing former Aussie spinner Bill 'Reilly. 'Reilly claimed 144 wickets from 27 Tests at 22.60.

Siddle rued that he wasn’t performing and has been lacking in contributing to the team. “You want to be winning and contributing to success for the team. I’ve definitely been lacking there,” Siddle was quoted as saying by an Australian daily.

“I haven’t done as well as I would have liked to... It just comes down to being able to build that pressure for long periods of time. In Australia, in other series in the past, I’ve been able to do that, which has helped the team and, whether I’ve got the wickets or we’ve got more consistent wickets at the other end for less runs, we’ve gone better, Siddle added.

“That’s what I’ve got to do... I’ve got to do that better,” Siddle was loud and clear.

It’s always a challenge for a fast bowler to bowl on Indian tracks. He has taken six Test wickets in India at 56.33. But in his debut match, in Mohali, he had finished with 4/176, taking the new ball with Brett Lee. And a fact which can give him confidence is that his maiden Test wicket was that of Sachin Tendulkar. “It’s nice any time you get the opportunity to go back to where you debuted,” he said.

“I’ve been back (to India) a few times, but haven’t had the chance to go to Mohali… So it’s going to be nice to get back in there in the rooms and obviously see the place where I did get my opportunity. Hopefully a few more scalps would be nice too,” Siddle hoped.

“It is hard work here… It’s always a challenge, you look at India’s line-ups over the last few years… There are usually only one or two quicks and a lot of spinners, so it is hard work.

“That’s why we play Test cricket I guess, it’s not easy for starters. To come over here in the challenge of these conditions against top-class players, that’s what we want to do,” he said.

Despite being 0-2 down, Siddle revealed that the Aussies haven’t yet given up hopes of retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy. “It would be a massive achievement (to square the series at 2-2). We’ve let ourselves down in the first two matches. If we could get back to a level series and finish off like that, I think it would be a great place to be after where we are at the moment,” he said.

“We’ll be working hard to do whatever we can. If we level the series, we retain the trophy, and that’s what it’s all about. The boys are ready to fight for that and hopefully in Mohali, we can start on a good note and put the pressure on them,” Siddle said.