Satisfied Siddle vows to keep trucking despite Test snub

Incumbent fast bowler Peter Siddle concedes his hopes of adding to his 67 Tests have dwindled but has vowed to keep playing domestically as long as he's still a force with the ball.

Despite playing three Tests in Australia's successful bid to retain the Ashes this winter, the Victorian was told he'd slipped down the pecking order for the two-match Domain Test Series against Pakistan with the uncapped Michael Neser instead winning the final fast-bowling berth.

A week away from his 35th birthday, Siddle hasn't played a Test on home soil in three years but insists he's content if the final chapter of his international career has been written.

"You always retain a little bit of hope (but) it's probably dwindled a little bit in the last week or so," Siddle said after Victoria's six-run Marsh One-Day Cup victory over NSW on Sunday.

"If that was the be all and end all, as soon as I hung up the phone (to selection chief Trevor Hohns) I would have hung it up altogether.

"I love playing for Victoria. As long as I’m still doing well – as soon as it gets to the point when I'm not taking wickets and holding up someone's spot or they want to move me on, then so be it.

"If I can keep performing and keep standing up for the team and do all the right things, I'll keep trying to truck in.

"If it gets me another game for Australia (I'll be happy) … if it doesn’t, 67 Tests and a few white-ball games, I've had a pretty good career. I'll be happy no matter what."

Siddle has admitted he previously thought his international career could be over when he was overlooked during Australia's Ashes tour to the United Kingdom in 2015 while the series was alive.

But Justin Langer has made no secret of his admiration for the veteran's bowling skill and leadership since taking over as head coach, recalling him to the Test side for away series against Pakistan and then England.

He also won a brief recall to the ODI side ahead of the World Cup having become a death-overs star in the KFC Big Bash League for the Adelaide Strikers.

Siddle, who played with a torn hip flexor in the final Ashes Test at The Oval, now faces a tough task to displace not only Neser, but the star quartet of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc over the summer and beyond.

His returns for Victoria this season have been typically solid; he's taken 12 wickets at 22 in three Marsh Sheffield Shield games since returning from the Ashes, while he marked his first Marsh Cup game of the season with a vital haul of 3-40 off 10 overs at the MCG on Sunday.

"As I've spoken about over the last couple of years, I just love playing the game, I'm enjoying it and if I just stay on the park and keep working hard, that's all I can do," said Siddle.

"My record throughout my career and even this year speaks for itself. I can't do anymore. That's the good thing personally, the ball is coming out well and I'm taking wickets."

Victoria could hand debuts to Jono Merlo and Mitch Perry for their final Marsh Cup match of the season against South Australia at the MCG on Tuesday.

The reigning champions' hopes of making the final are all but extinguished.

The remote possibility of making the final hinges firstly on Queensland losing in Monday's match against Tasmania, then Victoria claiming a double bonus-point win over the Redbacks by such an enormous margin that it overturns their poor net run rate to be superior to that of Queensland. 

Domain Test Series v Pakistan

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

First Test: November 21-25, Gabba (Seven, Fox & Kayo)

Second Test: November 29 – December 3, Adelaide (d/n) (Seven, Fox & Kayo)