Peter Siddle leaves Victoria for Tasmania

Melbourne, May 29: Former Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle has signed a two-year contract with Tasmanian Tigers, ending a 15-year long stint with his home state Victoria.
The 35-year-old pacer, who bid adieu to international cricket in December last year after snaring 221 wickets in 67 Tests, said he would look to "play good cricket" and "develop his coaching skills".

"My greatest goal is to come to Tasmania and play good cricket, while hopefully winning a few games which will be my biggest aim," Siddle, who played 62 matches for Victoria after debuting in 2005, told Cricket Tasmania.

"There's a few players down here that I've played a lot of cricket with, and there's a bunch of younger players that I'm looking forward to playing alongside. It's a great opportunity for me while I'm still playing to work alongside Griff (coach Adam Griffith).

"I want to develop my coaching skills further and really help some of the younger boys who have already shown a great amount of talent," added the right-arm pacer, who won two Sheffield Shield titles with Victoria.

Siddle, who finished fourth on the overall wicket list with 32 scalps in the Sheffield Shield season, will provide a big boost to the Tigers after the retirement of George Bailey, who had joined Cricket Australia's national selection panel earlier this year.

In another development, injury-ravaged all-rounder James Faulkner has been left out of the contract list by Tasmania. He had last played first-class cricket for Tasmania in 2017.