Peter Siddle: Australia pace bowler retires from international cricket

Peter Siddle took seven wickets in three Tests in the 2019 Ashes

Australia pace bowler Peter Siddle has announced his retirement from international cricket.

Siddle informed his team-mates of his decision shortly before day four of the second Test against New Zealand.

The 35-year-old took 221 wickets in 67 Tests at an average of 30.66 and helped Australia retain the Ashes in England last summer.

He won the County Championship title with Essex this year and is under contract at Chelmsford for 2020.

Paying tribute to Siddle, Australia coach Justin Langer said: "The year after I retired from playing, Matty Hayden and Ricky Ponting were raving about this guy called Peter Siddle.

"If it came from them, you knew it was right and so it proved throughout his brilliant international career.

"He is an unbelievable bloke and an extremely good cricketer. He is the everything of what a team player is. He has given his heart and soul to the Australian team and the game of cricket.

"We'll always be thankful to him for what he's given to the national team, and for the critical role he played in helping us retain the Ashes in England this year.

"He's going out when he's still playing well which, in a perfect world, is something every athlete wants to do."

Siddle made his Test debut in India in 2008 and took a hat-trick on his 26th birthday against England on the opening day of the 2010-11 Ashes at the Gabba.

A back injury in 2016 kept him out for a year but Siddle fought his way back into the Australian squad, making his first Test appearance in nearly two years against Pakistan in Dubai in October 2018.

He featured in three Tests in this year's drawn Ashes, with his final match coming in the fifth Test at The Oval in September.

After being left out of the squad for the subsequent Pakistan series, he was recalled for the New Zealand series but not named in the starting side for either of the first two Tests.

Siddle also took 17 wickets in 20 one-day internationals and three wickets in two Twenty20 internationals.