Six months after winding down his international career, former Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle has opened up on his troubled past, stemming from his issues with alcohol that nearly derailed his Test career before it could fully take flight.

Making the revelation on journalist and presenter Neroli Meadows’ podcast, Ordineroli Speaking, Siddle revisited a time in his life that had been taken over by the bottle, resulting in “25-30 drinks” for days at a stretch.

“I was pretty much borderline alcoholic in a way,” Siddle said. “If I said I was a binge drinker, it makes it sound better and look better for everyone else.

“People probably listen to it and go, ‘Oh yeah, but you only had drinks on the weekend’, but sometimes weekends could be three, four, five days in a row.”

Siddle made wholesale changes to his lifestyle, including turning vegan, and has stayed away from the bottle for eight years now.

He went on to play 67 Tests for Australia and is a member of their elusive 200-wicket Test club. He earned a stunning recall during the 2019 Ashes series in England, after spending nearly a year out of the side, and took seven wickets in three games, before announcing his retirement during last year’s Boxing Day Test against New Zealand.