Australian legend with 792 wickets retires from all forms of cricket

Australian legend with 792 wickets retires from all forms of cricket
Peter Siddle of Victoria celebrates the wicket of Cooper Connolly

Highlights:

Australian legend retires from all forms of cricket.

He had 792 first-class wickets.

Finishing his first-class career in style, fast Peter Siddle snuffed out Cooper Connolly's late heroics and took the final wicket as Victoria ruined Western Australia's hopes of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Sheffield Shield triumph in dramatic fashion at the WACA. Victoria's eventual 34-run triumph was effectively sealed when Campbell Kellaway, who struck the match's lone century, made an incredible one-handed grab at fine leg to dismiss Cameron Gannon in the shadows.

Siddle has convinced Victoria that he is done with Sheffield Shield cricket, despite the state's best efforts to persuade him to play again next season. Siddle, 40, was at the prime of his red-ball game till the very end, taking the last Western Australia wicket late into the final session of the season's final game to seal a memorable 34-run victory for the Victorians. The right-armer announced at the start of the summer that 2024-25 would be his final season, with the two-year contract he signed in 2023 to come home from Tasmania set to expire at season's end.

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But such has been his form across all formats this season, including a maiden five-wicket haul in one-day cricket and clocking speeds of up to 148kph in the Big Bash, that captain Will Sutherland and Victorian coach and former teammate Chris Rogers revealed they tried to "twist his arm" into playing on into a 21st season.

While Siddle will continue to play for the Melbourne Stars in the KFC BBL|15 after signing a one-year deal, both teams gave him a guard of honour as he exited the WACA Ground on Tuesday evening. With 4-68 in the second innings, the veteran of 67 Tests for Australia and 90 Shield matches for Victoria and Tasmania put an end to Western Australia's dreams of a fourth consecutive title.

The haul brought him to 792 first-class wickets, the highest by an Australian fast bowler since Michael Kasprowicz retired with 959 in 2008, and his total of 332 scalps places him in the top 15 all-time Sheffield Shield bowlers. Siddle, who made his debut for Victoria in 2005 and reached 1000 wickets across three professional formats last year, ended his final Shield season with 24 wickets at 19.62 in five games.