NewsEVENING STANDARD THURSDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2010 3

Aussie heroof fi rst day at the Ashes cut o! his fi nger chopping logs Jonathan Prynn and Rob Parsons

HE is the man who took the axe to Eng-land’s cricketers in Brisbane in the early hours of this morning.

But today we can reveal that Austral-ia’s new hero Peter Siddle almost ended his career before it began – by chopping off his own finger.

For the 26-year-old from the heart of the Bush spent his formative years as champion woodchopper. It is a major sport in the rural Victorian state where he grew up.

Siddle was given his first Tomahawk at the age of two.

His father Steve said: “He cut his fin-ger off in the backyard. It was hanging by the skin. But it’s fine. He got it stitched back up with no painkillers.”

Siddle’s family say his determination in competition was immediately obvi-ous.

His father said: “He came second most times because there was a boy who was a lot bigger than him, but he had the same determination he shows now.”

Mother Allison said: “It was the type of thing they grew up around so you don’t worry too much. They just use little Tomahawks to start with and they were never that sharp.”

Today, as he celebrated his birthday, he took six wickets including a hat-trick – dismissing three batsmen with suc-cessive balls – on the first day of the

Ashes at Gabba in Brisbane while his-parents watched the match in tears from their home in Morwell, west of Melbourne.

“It was unbelievable,” said Mrs Sid-dle. I was sitting here in my pyjamas because I had the day off work. I’ve been very superstitious and didn’t want to leave my seat.

“It’s such a huge relief. Pete can per-form so well when he’s under pressure. I just hope this gets some of the non-believers off his back.”

Siddle is rapidly becoming a cult sporting hero Down Under and has attended award ceremonies with his girlfriend Katrina Quaine, who has admitted being nervous at her new role as a cricket “Wag”.

They’re the most devoted – and tired – supporters bar noneRob Parsons and Daisy Dumas

Brisbane: Barmy Army on parade Shepherd’s Bush: It’s been a long night

... if only the surgeons hadn’tdecided to sew it back on

The axeman: Peter Siddlethe child wood chopper; celebrating his hat-trick, inset, and with girlfriend Katrina QuaineAshes coverage, Sport Pages 83-87

ASHES fans in London told how they slept through England’s humiliation on the first day.

Dozens filled the Walkabout pub in Shepherd’s Bush, thought to be the only venue in the capital to show the whole day’s play.

Alcohol stopped being served just after 11pm and many fans were forced to sleep on the pub’s sofas.

Australian Paul Torpie, 28, from Fulham, said: “I was not expecting the number of English people who are here, we are definitely outnumbered.”

In Australia, members of the Barmy Army also had a punishing schedule. Ned Dean, 40, a publisher from Putney, said: “We’ve been in Brisbane for 19 hours – we slept for seven and have been in the bar for the other 12.”