I'm not disputing that he had a very good season. But that's really not the point, and it's also irrelevant that his figures are better than Hilfenhaus' were last year. He's only played 9 matches. And although he displayed very good form in the five he played this year, form can desert you. That's why I mentioned Hilfenhaus- not to say that he was necessarily better, but that he was in very good form one year, and distinctly ordinary form the next. Siddle will have to perform to something very close to his stnadards this year for the next couple of seasons to prove to me that he should be the next pace bowler.

He averaged 33. It's still not particularly impressive, but I hate the idea of putting in a makeshift opener instead of a proper one, even if the makeshift had a better season. Besides, Broad and Hughes has balance IMO- the defensive right-hander who can take the shine off the ball, rotating the strike to the more aggressive lefty who can dominate the bowling.

Well, the fact that he's constantly injured doesn't really help his case.