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Australian
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Australia
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AUS
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Brett Lee
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Brett_leeJPG
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Right-hand bat
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Right-arm fast
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true
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54
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1033
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2108
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-/3
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64
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11098
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211
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3145
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7
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-
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5/30
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15/-
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135
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694
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1927
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-/2
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57
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6902
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237
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2284
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5
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-
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5/22
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34/-
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27 April
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2006
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(born
November 8 ,
1976 in
Wollongong ,
New South Wales ) is an
Australia n
Cricket er.
He is an express fast
Bowler , and at his fastest is capable of bowling over 150
Kilometres Per Hour (km/h) or 96
Miles Per Hour (mph). He is also an athletic
Fielder and aggressive lower-order
Batsman .
Lee made his
First-class debut for
New South Wales as an eighteen year old in 1994 and quickly made an impression with his speed and hostility as a bowler. Brett's elder brother
Shane also played for NSW and Australia.
On the 31st of January 2000, at the inaugural
Allan Border Medal award ceremony, Lee was selected as the 2000 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year.
By the late 1990s there were calls for him to be included in the national squad, and he duly made his
Test debut for Australia in December 1999 against the touring
Indians , taking thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the impressive
Average of 14.15.
In his first three series in the team Lee was outstanding, taking forty wickets in his opening seven Tests.
As Lee's career progressed, he struggled unexpectedly on the 2001
Ashes Tour Of England but this did have a lot to do with the flat nature of the English pitches and a lack of luck.
With
Glenn McGrath and
Shane Warne sidelined, Brett was forced to be a containment bowler which effectively forced him to bowl long spells well below his normal pace. Against a vibrant Indian attack in the 2004 home series Brett had extremely poor returns, and he subsequently lost his place to fellow fast bowler
Michael Kasprowicz in 2004. The 'Lee or Kasprowicz?' debate was a popular topic of debate for cricket commentators, journalists, analysts and fans alike until the first Test of the 2005 Ashes series, where he made his way back into the Australian team after impressive one-day form. His cause was helped by the axing of ageing pace bowler
Andrew Bichel .
Lee's form in the Test arena had been inconsistent, and from 2001-2005, he had a Test bowling average of 38, compared to his career average of 32.
After 18 months on the sidelines and a plea to the media regarding his constant position as 12th man in the team, Lee returned to the Test team in the
2005 Ashes series. With
Michael Kasprowicz and
Jason Gillespie both struggling for form, Lee overtook them as the leading Australian paceman behind
Glenn McGrath . He averaged in the 40s with the ball for the series, but was retained, in part because of his stodgy batting but also due to his excellent pace and newfound accuracy.
In the 2005 Australia-West Indies Test series, Lee has been credited as capturing fairly impressive form again highlighted by his second innings figures in the First Test of 5 for 30 from 14 overs. In the
2005-06 Australian Cricket Season , Lee's Test figures have improved significantly, with a season bowling average in the low 20s, compared to a career average of 31.
With the unavailability of
Glenn McGrath for the tour of
South Africa in March-April
2006 , Lee became the spearhead of the Australian bowling lineup. In the second Test of that series, at
Durban , Lee captured his 200th Test wicket in his 51st match. His form saw him named one of five
Wisden Cricketers Of The Year in 2006.
In
One-day Internationals Lee is widely regarded as one of the world's finest bowlers, with a wide array of deliveries including a devastating in-swinging
Yorker . His bowling
Strike Rate of around 30 puts him amongst the greats in this form of the game. He also has a one-day international
Hat-trick to his name, achieved in the
2003 World Cup against
Kenya .
He vies with Pakistani bowler
Shoaib Akhtar for the mantle of 'World's Fastest Bowler', although many former players consider former Australian
Jeff Thomson as the fastest bowler of all time.
Part of Lee's difficulty at test level will always be that which makes him stand out from many other bowlers around: his sheer speed although in recent times he has tried to concentrate more on his accuracy then his speed as such lately he tends to only bowl around 145km with the occasional 150km quicker ball.
Lee also has perhaps one of the most impressive slower balls in the world for the sheer amount of pace removed from the ball with no discernable change in grip or bowling action. This ball can be anywhere from around 100km/h to around 120km/h and is used sparingly. Some have suggested that this is actually too slow (compared to his average ball), allowing the batsman enough extra time to realise it is the slower ball even if he didn't "pick" the delivery out of the bowlers hand. However it has proved good enough to remove
Brian Lara considered by many to be one of the finest batsmen in the world.
Lee's pace makes it easy for good balls to go for four, should a batsman successfully give the ball a guiding edge or even an uncontrolled nick that doesn't go to hand in the slips. Several such lucky shots often tend to play havoc with his figures. For instance in his first spell in the Australia VS South Africa 2005 Test match at the WACA (Perth) cost 45 runs for no wicket even though Lee was credited by commentators as "bowling well without luck". Lee returned later with better luck ending up with figures of 5 for 93 from 22.2 overs.
While Lee's average and strike rate in ODIs rank him as one of the best bowlers in ODI history (statistically), there is still an apparent erracticism with his bowling. At his best, he is an extremely damaging bowler, but at his worst, he concedes many runs. His worst figures in ODIs is 1/83.
Lee's batting in recent times has been spectacular and he has said that he would like to become an
All Rounder . During the 2005
Ashes Series, Lee had numerous memorable innings, and showed promise as a batsman. Lee's aggressive style often nets him many fours and sixes, including one six which flew out of the
Gabba (Brisbane), billed as the biggest six ever hit at that ground. The six in question went over the top of a stand or through a gap between two stands to land on top of the practise nets. On 2 April 2006, Lee hit his highest test score of 64 in 68 balls against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg with some fine shots.
In the matches Australia played in the
2005-06 Triangular One Day Series , Lee had been listed on
Channel 9 team lists as an all-rounder. He gave an indication why by making a valiant 57 in the second game in a 100 run partnership with
Michael Hussey to pull Australia out of a middle order collapse (though they went on to lose the match).
Lee finished the series with 15 wickets, the third highest tally behind
Nathan Bracken and
Muttiah Muralitharan .
Lee is considered a 'pin-up' boy of Australian cricket and is decidedly popular with cricket's female fans. He also has a number of personal sponsorship deals. Lee is also part of a musical band called
Six & Out .
His sponsorship deals include with the breakfast cereal
Weet-Bix (which were at one time marketed as "Brett-Bix") and also the game
Brett Lee's Backyard Cricket .
Test Debut: vs
India ,
Melbourne , 1999-2000
- Lee's best Test batting score of 64 was made against South Africa , Johannesburg , 2006
- His best Test bowling figures of 5 for 30 came against The West Indies, Brisbane, 2005
ODI Debut: vs
Pakistan , Brisbane, 1999-2000
- Lee's best ODI batting score of 57 was made against South Africa , Brisbane , 2005-2006
- His best ODI bowling figures of 5 for 22 came against South Africa , Melbourne , 2005-2006
- In the first 05-06 Chappell Hadlee Trophy match Lee demolished the New Zealand top order in a stunning spell of 6 overs 4 maidens 3 for 5.
