Peter Siddle's wood-chopping days are long gone, but the Australian paceman can't wait to hack into England's batsmen if called upon during the Ashes.
Siddle has politely corrected suggestions a history of shoulder problems stemmed from his axe-wielding feats.
''It [woodchopping] is just another little sport that we do over in Australia and I think it's over in the States as well,'' Siddle said yesterday in London.
''It's not very exciting, that's why I'm playing cricket,'' the 24-year-old from Traralgon, Victoria, added with a grin.
Excitement will certainly be on Siddle's agenda during the northern summer as he vies with Australia's finest pace bowlers for a crack at England's batsmen during the Ashes series.
Much of the talk about Australia's cricketers since they landed in England has centred on the absence of the great destroyers such as Glenn McGrath, while Siddle revealed he had modelled himself on the retired pace great.
''I'm a no-holds-barred sort of cricketer,'' Siddle said.
''I just charge in, try and bowl fast and be consistent.
''I watched a lot of Glenn McGrath and [South African quick] Allan Donald as I was growing up.
''I just want to take a little bit from both those players and try and make myself as a cricketer.''
And Siddle has already drawn comparisons with another aggressive Victorian bowler, Merv Hughes.
Siddle struck Indian opener Gautam Gambhir on the helmet with his first delivery in Test cricket and became a target of abuse for South African fans during the recent tour there.
''I like to charge in and bowl the odd bouncer and try and bowl fast,'' he said.
''I did cop a little bit of grief over in South Africa from the fans, sort of the Merv Hughes style, so I think that's where that comes from.
''It's a good contest, the fans getting into you and the batsmen going after you, it was always fun and made it a bit more of a challenge, which is always exciting, I enjoyed it a lot.''
Siddle has taken 29 wickets in seven Tests to earn his place in the Ashes squad.
Mitchell Johnson is regarded as the only certain fast bowling selection for the Test team.
Stuart Clark, who is not part of the Twenty20 squad currently in England, and Brett Lee are returning from injuries to jostle with incumbents Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus for the other places.
Siddle took 1-39 off three overs in his only appearance of this tour so far, Australia's seven-wicket win over New Zealand in Tuesday's World Twenty20 warm-up match.
Lee has taken encouraging steps back to form in the pre-tournament friendlies, with two wickets in the first match against Bangladesh and an economical 1-9 off 3.5 overs against New Zealand.
But Johnson has starred by snaring seven wickets in two matches.
Australia plays its first match of the World Twenty20 against the West Indies tomorrow and it meets Sri Lanka in its next group match two days later.
Siddle believes Australia's lesser-known bowlers may prove an advantage against opposition batsmen all summer.
''There's always going to be a surprise factor with an inexperienced sort of group and blokes who haven't been seen much,'' he said. ''There's not going to be a lot of knowledge on the way some of us bowl and the way some of us go about our game, so I think it will help a little bit.
''But you've still got to go out there and execute your plans and how you go about getting blokes out.'' AAP
TOMORROW
World Twenty20 Group C: Australia v West Indies at Kennington Oval, London. TV Time: Live on WIN from 10.55pm.