What a triumphant return to Headingley Carnegie it was for Huddersfield-born Ryan Sidebottom, who left Yorkshire under a cloud at the end of the 2003 season when he packed his bags and made off to Nottinghamshire.

And what good news it was for England that the 29-year-old left-arm swing bowler should return after six years in the Test wilderness to snatch a total of eight wickets for 86 runs and send the West Indies tumbling to a record defeat by an innings and 283 runs.

So superior was Sidebottom's bowling to that of any of his Test colleagues that both England and Yorkshire were made to regret that he has not been a part of their armoury in recent years.

The man-of-the-match award at the end of the Headingley Test went to Kevin Pietersen for his dashing 226 but Sidebottom was the player who should have been up on the rostrum receiving it.

I am not belittling Pietersen's effort, or Michael Vaughan's fairy tale comeback century, but the West Indies' attack was so feeble that most capable batsmen should have been able to make runs.

It was Sidebottom who made victory possible in the rain-hit encounter by swinging the ball in at a good pace and aiming at the stumps, which is something that other England bowlers seem incapable of doing these days.

I heard it said by one pundit on Test Match Special that England ought to be congratulated for bringing back Sidebottom after a six-year absence and giving him another chance.

The truth is that it is a poor reflection on the former Duncan Fletcher-led regime that Sidebottom was never once seriously considered during that period, despite his success with Yorkshire and then Nottinghamshire.

Even now, he may have continued to go unnoticed had other more favoured alternatives not been either badly out of form or injured - as was the case with the unfortunate, Matthew Hoggard, Sidebottom's former team-mate at Yorkshire.

Unlike certain previous fast bowlers, however, Sidebottom should not become one of an elite band who are chosen specifically for the Headingley Test match and are then never seen or heard of again, Yorkshiremen Neil Mallender and Mike Smith being cases in point.

Sidebottom cannot fail to have impressed new England coach Peter Moores and if he continues to seize his chances he still has enough years in him to enjoy a successful career at international level.

It was perfectly fitting that Ryan should make such a big impact at Headingley, where a Sidebottom has been part of the scene for the past 34 years - ever since the day that dad Arnie made his Yorkshire debut in 1973 before going on to take 558 first class wickets for his native county.

Both father and son have been familiar and popular figures on the Yorkshire scene and it is sad that neither of them is no longer there.

Ryan, of course, left in some acrimony in 2003 at the end of a season which started very well for him and ended with him being unable to squeeze his way back into the side - a situation he was not prepared to put up with.

When he was playing, no opposing side suffered more than Derbyshire, because he captured seven for 97 against them at Headingley and a few weeks later he caused further mayhem in their ranks by claiming six for 38 in the first innings at Derby and nine wickets in the match.

It all began to go sour for Sidebottom in the Championship match against Hampshire at Scarborough in late July when he stumbled over the boundary rope during a morning practice session and severely sprained his ankle.

The injury kept him out for three weeks and he was due to return in the next Championship game at North Marine Road but had to pull out at the last minute with a heavy cold.

Having recovered from his illness he expected to be included in the side for the penultimate match of the season against Worcestershire at New Road but with no Test match to drain their resources Yorkshire already had a strong fast bowling line-up to choose from in Hoggard, Craig White, Chris Silverwood and Steve Kirby.

Sidebottom was considered surplus to requirements, despite his 35 wickets that summer at 20.28 runs apiece - and a rift opened up between himself and the club which could not be healed.

Ironically, the 2003 season also saw the end of Arnie's long association with Yorkshire, despite his superb effort in managing the second team and guiding them to the Second XI Championship title for the first time in 12 years. The restructuring of the coaching staff meant there was no role for him to fill.