Durham County Cricket Club has signed veteran Australian seamer Peter Siddle as a replacement for Scott Boland, who has been ruled out of his stint with the club due to a plantar fasciitis injury.
Boland, who had signed a multi-format deal until the end of July, was expected to play a key role in Durham’s County Championship and T20 Blast campaigns. However, the foot injury prevented him from arriving in time for the opening Division One fixture against Hampshire, which was washed out due to rain. The injury worsened after he bowled 13 wicketless overs against Warwickshire, forcing him to miss the subsequent match against Worcestershire.
Scans revealed that the 35-year-old Boland will require significant recovery and rehabilitation. Cricket Australia (CA), which had encouraged Boland to play as much cricket as possible in England to build up his fitness ahead of the upcoming Test series against India, will now oversee his recovery.
Durham’s director of cricket, Marcus North, moved swiftly to secure Siddle as a replacement. The 39-year-old Siddle has extensive experience in county cricket, having played for Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, Essex, and Somerset. He has taken 189 wickets at an average of 22.98 across all four clubs, including 16 wickets at 24.12 for Somerset last season.
“It was important we acted quickly to replace Scott Boland and we have done that with the addition of Peter Siddle for the County Championship,” North said in a statement. “It is very disappointing to lose Scott after just one game and we wish him all the best in his recovery. We look forward to welcoming Pete to Durham and watching him play a key part in our success on the field in the coming weeks.”
Siddle, who has not played a Test match since the last of his 10 caps during last summer’s Ashes, will be eager to make an impact for Durham and prove his fitness ahead of the India series. With Boland not in CA’s T20 World Cup plans, there is ample time for him to overcome this latest setback.
