Siddle excited by Bollinger reunion
Peter Siddle is relishing the prospect of a probable reunion with Doug Bollinger in Australia's second Test against the West Indies tomorrow.
Australia crushed the tourists by an innings and 65 runs in the opening Test and will look to continue the punishment in Adelaide.
The three-pronged pace attack of Siddle, Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson has worked before, with the trio taking 14 of 20 wickets in Australia's victory over South Africa in Sydney in January.
That was Bollinger's first and only Test cap to date so the left armer is keen for a return to the five-day stage after 11 months on the fringes.
And Siddle believes he and Bollinger can feed off each other when they bowl in tandem.
"I think we do," he said. "That Sydney Test against South Africa we both sort of enjoyed the contest and I think we did get each other going a little bit and he loves charging in there and bowling fast and bowling well.
"He's a good bloke to have around the team, he keeps everyone up and going and upbeat so it's going to be good fun out there with him again."
Siddle said Bollinger's attitude would be a positive for the side, but admitted Australia's approach would not differ too much from the Gabba Test, regardless of who opened the bowling.
"Every team that we sort of put out on the park is always aggressive and always wants to go well with the new ball," he said.
"Whether it's me and Mitch, or me and Doug, or Doug and Mitch, it will no doubt be a very fierce contest.
"That's why we play cricket, we all want to get the opportunity to open the bowling for our country and to get that chance."
Marcus North did not arrive at Adelaide Oval with his team-mates, missing his scheduled flight because of a stomach problem, but Siddle is confident the middle-order batsman would be fit to play.
"It was the safest option, everyone can understand that, you don't really want to travel on the plane with gastro," he said.
Australia may have won the first Test in convincing fashion, but Siddle believes the tourists have what it takes to bounce back.
He said: "Any team can turn it around. It's a new match and the wicket is probably a little bit similar to what they sort of play on in the West Indies."
The Windies are confident Ramnaresh Sarwan has recovered from a back injury and will be available to play, and Siddle claimed Australia would welcome the experienced batsman's return.
"We are looking forward to that, you always want to play against the best players and he's one of their better players and it'll be a good opportunity for us to come up against him," he said.
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The inclusion of Sarwan, who has averaged 42.32 in 81 matches, would be a major boost for the under-siege West Indies line-up.
Fellow batsman Travis Dowlin believes his experienced team-mate's fitness is improving.
"He's taking some treatment and so far he's looking like he's going to be playing. He's working quite hard around the clock with CJ Clark our physiotherapist," Dowlin said.
"I saw him do some fielding and I think he has already had a knock in the nets and he's shaping up quite well."
A West Indies spokesman said no decision had been made on who would make way for Sarwan and who would replace injured bowler Jerome Taylor.
Dowlin has also defended his captain, believing Chris Gayle has the right leadership style to get the most out of the players.
"He's really great to get along with. He's definitely a cool customer. We had a lengthy discussion after the game," he said.
"Everybody responds differently and he has his own style, but he does get across his message, what he wants you to do...and that's the most important thing.
"We didn't play as well as we could have (in Brisbane) but we've spoken about a few things, we just need to improve our all-round cricket.
"It'll be tough, it won't be easy but obviously we are committed to the task. Definitely we can win."
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