Siddle withdraws from county cricket stint

Peter Siddle will miss the rest of the county season with Essex after returning home to Australia for personal reasons.

The former Australia seamer, 36, has taken 20 wickets in six County Championship matches at an average of 24.40 this year and was recently awarded his county cap.

"I'm sad to be leaving Chelmsford early as I love playing for Essex," said Siddle, who took 221 wickets in 67 Tests at 30.66 for Australia between October 2008 and September 2019.

"I've built some really strong bonds with the guys, so it's upsetting that I have to go home, but hopefully in the future I can come back and play some more cricket for this great club.

"I know I'm getting to the back end of my career, but I've still got some playing time left.

"We'll see what happens in the coming months and in the build-up to the 2022 season, but fingers crossed there's still a little bit more cricket to be played for Essex."

Essex, the defending champions, currently sit second in Group 1 of this year's Championship as the competition pauses for T20 fixtures.

Siddle becomes the third Australian to leave a stint in the UK early – following injuries to Billy Stanlake (back stress fracture) and Sean Abbott (grade 2 hamstring tear).

Hot on his heels will be wicketkeeper-batsman Ben McDermott and veteran allrounder Dan Christian, who were last night added to Australia's squad for the looming white-ball tour of the Caribbean and Bangladesh.

McDermott and Christian are currently in the UK with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire respectively ahead of this week's start of the T20 Blast competition.

McDermott played one County Championship game with Derbyshire last week, while Christian is yet to feature, having gone to the UK from his stint in the IPL.

Both will return to Australia this week to complete the mandatory two-week quarantine period before the Australia squad's scheduled departure for the Caribbean in late June.

Stanlake had bowled 17 overs, including seven no-balls, for a return of 2-91 in his debut match with Derbyshire, but was diagnosed with a stress fracture after the game.

Abbott, on his County Championship debut with Surrey, hit 40 with the bat and took 2-5 in five second-innings overs, but on the final delivery of his fifth over, rolled his ankle in footmarks that caused the hamstring tear.

Abbott, who is currently in his mandatory hotel quarantine after arriving back in Australia on Tuesday faces about eight weeks of rehab.