Peter Siddle signs two-year deal with Victoria, Jon Holland axed

After spending two years with Tasmania, veteran Australia pacer Peter Siddle re-signed with his boyhood state club Victoria for a two-year deal, which will see him in the southern state till he turns 40. Notably, the 38-year-old first signed for Victoria in 2005. In the middle, he represented Australia in 67 Test matches and 20 ODIs but never decided to part ways with Victoria until 2020.

Siddle, in his first year for Tasmani,a was named joint winner of the Ricky Ponting Medal as the Tigers' best cricketer over the summer of 2021-22. Later on, he toyed with retiring from the game but in the end, the pacer signed another deal with Victoria. 

Meanwhile, after securing his sign, David Hussey, Cricket Victoria's head of male cricket, stated that the cricketer can very well guide the young pacers in the camp as he has the calibre and enough experience upon his sleeves.

“To have a player of Peter Siddle's calibre and experience returning to support a young fast-bowling group is exciting. He'll be a great mentor for all of them. Peter is a very passionate Victorian and it's fantastic that he's able to finish his career at home,” Hussey was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

On the other hand, Victoria has axed veteran spinner Jon Holland after the 35-year-old has spent 14 years with the team. Speaking about the same, Hussey stated that it is always difficult to part ways with players but there are certain difficult decisions that the team management needs to take.

“In any contracting process, there are always difficult decisions and I'd like to thank all the players who are departing our program for their commitment to Victorian cricket. It would be remiss of me to not make a special mention of Jon Holland and Aaron Finch who have both made enormous contributions to our program, to our squads and to the success Victoria has enjoyed throughout their very successful careers. They both hold a special place in this era of Victorian cricket,” Hussey added.

Victoria men's contracts 2023-24: Scott Boland (CA), Ashley Chandrasinghe, Xavier Crone, Travis Dean, Sam Elliott, Matt Fotia, Peter Handscomb, Sam Harper, Marcus Harris (CA), Campbell Kellaway, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell (CA), Cameron McClure, Jono Merlo, Todd Murphy (CA), Tom O'Donnell, Fergus O'Neill, Wil Parker, Mitch Perry, Will Pucovski, Tom Rogers, Matt Short, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland.