The bowler who took a hat-trick on his/her birthday, debuted against India, Sachin became the first victim

New Delhi. Everyone has a desire to make their birthday memorable. Many cricketers have done this, including India’s Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Vinod Kambli. All three have given themselves the wonderful gift of a century on their birthday. Sachin’s childhood friend Vinod Kambli was the first batsman to do so. Left-handed batsman Kambli scored a century (100 not out) in Jaipur on his/her 21st birthday on 18 January 1991 while playing an ODI against England. Sachin joined this special club on his/her 25th birthday on 24 April 1998 by scoring a century (134 runs) against Australia in Sharjah, while Virat scored his/her 49th ODI century (101 not out) against South Africa in Kolkata on 5 November during the World Cup 2023 and equaled Sachin.

Some bowlers have also performed brilliantly on their birthdays, prominent among them is Australia’s Peter Siddle. Right-arm fast bowler Siddle made his/her 26th birthday memorable by taking a hat-trick. Siddle achieved this feat in the Ashes series (England vs Australia) against arch-rivals England.

Cook, Prior and Brand were made victims
Peter Matthew Siddle, born on 25 November 1982, was part of the Australian team for the first Ashes Test that began in Brisbane on 25 November 2010. Making his/her birthday memorable, on the very first day of the Test, he/she dismissed Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad on three consecutive balls. Cook was caught out by Shane Watson in the slips on his/her ball while Prior was bowled and Broad was LBW. Due to Siddle’s brilliant bowling performance (6/54), Australia managed to restrict England to 260 runs in the first innings on the opening day of the Test. In reply, Australia scored a huge score of 481 runs in the first innings and gained a lead of 221 runs, but due to the brilliant performance of the batsmen in the second innings, England was able to draw the Test. Cook, who scored 67 runs in the first innings and an unbeaten 235 runs in the second, was the player of the match.

Made his/her debut against India
Siddle, who played international cricket for Australia from 2008 to 2019, had a career affected by injuries. Siddle, who made his/her international debut in the Mohali Test against India in October 2008, played 67 Tests, 20 ODIs and 2 T20Is. he/she has 221 wickets in Tests at an average of 30.66 (5-wicket haul in an innings 8 times), 17 in ODIs (best 3/55) and three wickets in T20Is (best 2/24) to his/her name. Siddle took his/her first wicket in the form of Sachin Tendulkar in his/her debut Test. In his/her debut Test, he/she was successful in taking three wickets in the first innings and one in the second but Australia had to face defeat in the match.

I was surprised by the decision to become vegan
In 2012, Siddle surprised everyone by deciding to become a vegan. For this, he/she also had to face criticism. It was also said that vegan diet is having a negative effect on Siddle’s performance and he/she is feeling tired quickly. However, the fast bowler denied these allegations. Let us tell you, the term vegan is used for those who do not eat meat, fish and eggs as well as milk products like milk-cheese, even honey. Vegans include only natural things in their diet. In a way, it can be considered a special category of vegetarian. Their food includes grains, salads, fruits, pulses and seeds.

Two half-centuries, both scored in the same Test against India
In his/her Test career, Siddle scored two half-centuries. The interesting thing is that he/she played both these half-century innings in the Delhi Test against India. In March 2013, at Delhi’s Kotla ground, he/she scored 51 runs in the first innings and 50 runs in the second innings. However, in this Test too, Australia had to face a defeat of 6 wickets. Affected by the injury, Siddle announced his/her retirement from all formats of cricket in December 2019.

When the ‘birthday boy’ outed the ‘birthday boy’
Apart from taking a hat-trick on his/her birthday, Siddle has another interesting achievement to his/her name. In 2012, in the second innings of the Test against South Africa in Adelaide, on his/her 28th birthday, i.e. on 25 November, he/she dismissed the opposition team’s Alviro Pietersen. Coincidentally, Pietersen’s birthday also falls on 25 November. Born on 25 December 1980, Pietersen’s 32nd birthday was on 25 December 2012. This occasion became special because of one ‘birthday boy’ dismissing another birthday boy. A similar incident in Test cricket happened in April 1962 in the Port of Spain Test between India and West Indies when Indian spinner Bapu Nadkarni dismissed West Indies team opener Easton McMorris in the first innings on his/her birthday (4 April). McMorris’ birthday was also on 4 April.

tag: Test cricket