BRETT LEE

'Brett Lee' (born 8 November, 1976 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian cricketer.

Style

Lee is an express bowler, one of the fastest the game has known, and is capable of bowling at 160 km/h (99 mph). Lee's fastest recorded delivery to date is 160.8 km/h (99.9 mph) which he bowled in his first over on March 5, 2005 at Napier, New Zealand against Craig Cumming.^[1] He is also an athletic fielder and aggressive lower-order batsman with a batting average exceeding 20.
Lee ranks with Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket.^[2] Akhtar's delivery at 161.4km/h (100.2mph) stands as the fastest recorded to date.^[3], while Tait's fastest recorded delivery is 160.0 km/h (99.4 mph). ^[4]
Lee's speed allows opposition batsmen less time to react, increasing their chances of a making a mistake. However, this is also offset by a loss of accuracy. He has a Test bowling average above thirty, which sees him ranked in the 15-25 range in the International Cricket Council's Test bowling rankings.
Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared.^[5]
He was also criticised in early 2005 for bowling a series of beamers at batsmen during ODIs, at a rate which lead some to claim he was deliberately bowling illegal head high full tosses at batsmen.^[6]^[7]
Lee is at his most effective on the pitches of the southern hemisphere, where the pitches have greater bounce. In the northern hemisphere, he has taken 53 wickets in 19 Tests at an average of 42.11. In the southern hemisphere, he has taken 178 wickets in 40 matches at 28.48. He has had the most success against the West Indies and New Zealand, averaging in the low twenties. He averages more than 40 against England, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and in the 30s against other teams. ^[8]

Childhood and early career

Lee is the second of three sons born to Bob, a metallurgist and Helen, a piano teacher. He has two brothers, the elder being former Australian all rounder and New South Wales Blues captain Shane Lee and a younger brother Grant, now an accountant and concert pianist, who played cricket for New South Wales at the under-19 level. Lee attended Balarang Public School and Oak Flats High School, which later named its cricket ground in his honour. His nickname 'Bing' refers to 'Bing Lee', after a chain of electronics stores in New South Wales.
The brothers enjoyed soccer, basketball and skiing and were encouraged to play the piano by their mother. Lee was introduced to the game of cricket at the age of eight by his brother Shane. He played his first formal game of cricket for the Oak Flats Rats where he took 6/0 from one over or 6 wickets for 0 runs, all of his wickets being bowled..
At sixteen years of age, Lee began playing first grade cricket for Campbelltown, where he managed to claim the wickets of a few New South Wales cricketers. He later joined Mosnan, where at one point, he shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar. ^[9]
Lee also played for the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian Cricket Academy.
In March 1994, Lee was forced out of the Australian under-19 team to tour India due to stress fractures in his lower back. He recovered made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield match as a 20-year old in the 1997–98 season, playing one match and taking 3/114.^[10]
One month later, Lee was chosen to represent the Australian A team on a tour to South Africa. He claimed two wickets but in that very match, stress fractures in his back from the previous injury had re-opened and Lee was in a back brace for over three months. When he turned twenty-one, Lee moved to Sydney to be closer to work.
During the 1997-98 season, he played in five of the ten Sheffield Shield games, taking fourteen wickets at 30. He finished outside the top 20 in both the wicket taking list and the bowling averages.^[11]
In 1999, during a Sheffield Shield match at Perth, Lee bowled a spell against the Western Australian batsmen, compared the fastest bowling seen in Australia since the days of Jeff Thomson back in the 1970s. From that point, Australian captain Steve Waugh and then vice-captain Shane Warne began pushing for Lee's inclusion in the Test team.

Test career

Early Test career

By the late 1990s there were calls for him to be included in the national squad. He was eventually chosen in the final 14 for the Test series against Pakistan in 1999 but failed to make the final 11. By the time the Test series against India came around, he was twelfth man. However, he duly made his Test debut for Australia in December 1999 against the touring Indians, becoming Australia's 383rd Test cricketer.
Bowling first change, Lee took a wicket in his first over in Test cricket when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh with his fourth delivery. He also captured Rahul Dravid in his first spell before returning to take three wickets in six balls to finish the innings with figures of 5/47 from 17 overs. Australia had batted first, and Lee had earlier made 27 runs. Lee took thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the low average of 14.15.
Lee won the inaugural Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year Award at the Allan Border Medal award ceremony in 2000 soon after his debut.
During the early 2000 tour to New Zealand, Lee was reported by umpires Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Arani Jayaprakash for a suspected illegal bowling action. He was later cleared.
Lee took 42 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played.^[12] However, in his seventh Test, where he took seven wickets including a five wicket haul in the second innings against the West Indies, he suffered a stress fracture of the lower back which kept him out of three following Tests. He returned against Zimbabwe but soon suffered another setback a month later when he broke his right elbow and was sidelined until May 2001.

Return from injury

Lee returned to the international team on the 2001 Ashes tour of England after recovering from an elbow injury. His comeback saw less success than his debut, managing only nine wickets in five Tests at 55.11. However, Lee was back as Australia's leading wicket-taker in the first and third Test against New Zealand later that year, in a series which he captured 5 wickets in the second innings and made a contribution of 61 with the bat in the first Test match. The series ended in a 0–0 draw. He finished the series with 14 wickets at 25.14. The two home and away series against South Africa were not as productive, yielding 19 wickets in six Tests at 38.42.
Lee only took five wickets in a match on three occasions between the New Zealand series and the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Lee came under pressure for his position after taking only five wickets at 46.50 in the three-Test series against Pakistan in 2002. Andy Bichel, who was filling for the injured Jason Gillespie, took eight wickets at 13.25. With the other frontline bowlers all taking wickets at less than 13,^[13] Lee was dropped when Gillespie returned for the first two Tests during the 2002–03 Ashes series. He returned for the Perth Test, after claiming a five wicket haul in a Pura Cup match against Queensland for New South Wales. He took thirteen wickets at 41.23 in three matches, compared to Bichel's ten at 35.1.^[14] After the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Lee took 17 wickets at 28.88 in four Tests against the West Indies. It was the first series in two years where he averaged under 30, and only the second in that period where had averaged under 40.
After a mid year break, he participated in a Two Test series against Bangladesh in northern Australia. He took six wickets at 31.66, and was Australia's most expensive bowler, with the other specialist bowlers averaging 15.55 against the lowest ranked team in Test cricket. He followed this with six wickets at 37 in a comfortable 2-0 Test series against Zimbabwe, in which the other specialist bowlers averaged 23.15.^[15]
Against the Indian batting lineup in the 2003-04 home series, which ended in a 1–1 draw for Australia, Lee was out of the first two Tests recovering from a torn abdominal muscle, an injury which he sustained the Zimbabwe series.^[16] At that point in time, Lee decided to undergo surgery to partially repair 'posterior ankle impingement', a condition that Lee was suffering with prior to the Test series against Zimbabwe as well as surgery to repair his torn abdominal muscle. This was done so that recovery for both injuries would run concurrently. This year in the 2007 world cup, Lee failed to play due to an ankle injury, but his fan's expect a strong come back from the speedster

Loss of Test position

Lee took eight wickets in over 100 overs in the final two Tests against India, taking eight wickets at an average of 59.50. This included conceding a double century in the Indians' first innings of 7/705 in the final Test in Sydney. He ended the series with the worst average and economy rate of Australia's front line bowlers.^[17]
He was subsequently replaced by fellow fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz in 2004 during the tour of Sri Lanka when Lee's ankle injury worsened, forcing him to return home to have surgery. This injury would force Lee out of the game for 4½ months to ensure his full recovery.
Lee's form in the Test arena had been ineffective, and from July 2001 to January 2004, he had a Test bowling average of 38.42,^[18] compared to his average of 16.07 in his earlier career.
Lee was unable to reclaim his position for eighteen months, when Kasprowicz took 47 wickets at 23.74 in thirteen Tests, taking his wickets at a much lower cost than Lee had done in the previous three years. This included 17 wickets at 26.82 on the spin friendly pitches of the Indian subcontinent, helping Australia to its first whitewash in Sri Lanka, and its first series win in India for 35 years.^[19] Lee's recent ankle injury stopped him from playing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

Test return

Brett Lee bowling against South Africa at the WACA in 2005

After 18 months on the sidelines and a plea to the selectors and 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 returned to take the new ball with Glenn McGrath. He averaged in the 40s with the ball for the series, but was retained, in part because of his defiant batting which yielded runs at an average of 26.33.^[20], as well as injuries to McGrath.
Part of Lee's difficulty at Test level is that the benefits of his high speed, which give the batsmen less reaction time, also results in more erratic bowling. In recent times he has tried to concentrate solely on accuracy by reducing speed. During the first Test against the West Indies in late 2005 at the Gabba, after declaring that he would sacrifice pace and focus on 'line and length', ^[21] Lee reverted to his initial style of bowling, based on the advice of his captain Ricky Ponting after his new method of bowling failed in the first innings. ^[22] This saw him take 5/30 his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests, his first in four years.
In the 2005-06 Australian cricket season, Lee's Test figures improved from his 2001-04 difficulties, with a season bowling average of 25.74.
During South Africa's 2005-2006 tour of Australia, Lee's form saw a steady improvement, with Lee capturing figures of 5/93 in the first Test at Perth. He finished the three Test series with 13 wickets and of the Australian bowlers, was second only to Shane Warne's 14 wickets in the series. Three Australian players including Lee, who was reprimanded in the Third Test in Sydney for showing dissent towards umpire Aleem Dar.^[23]
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. ^[24] In the second Test of that series, at Durban, Lee captured his 200th Test wicket in his 51st match and also captured figures of 5 for 69, on the back of 49 Test wickets in 2005.^[25] He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. He was unable to maintain his performance when Australia visited Bangladesh for a two Test series, taking two wickets at 93, coming bottom of Australia's bowling averages.^[26]
In the 2006/2007 Ashes series, Lee was widely criticised for his poor form of bowling. In the first three tests, he only took eight wickets and was fined for excessive appealing in the Third Test in Adelaide when a LBW decision was not in his favour. However during the week period between the Adelaide and Melbourne tests, he worked with Troy Cooley, Australia's bowling coach, to adjust his run up and came back in the 4th and final tests with more wickets. He finished the series with 20 wickets, with his best bowling figures being 4 for 47 at an average of 33.20. Only his Australian counterparts Stuart Clark with 26 wickets, Shane Warne with 23 wickets and Glenn McGrath with 21 wickets were ahead of him, Lee being the fourth highest wicket-taker in the 2006/07 Ashes series ahead of all the English bowlers.^[27]

One-day International career

Lee bowling against Pakistan at Lord's, 2004-09-04

Lee made his debut in One-day Internationals for Australia against Pakistan on January 9 2000 during the Carlton and United Breweries Series at the Gabba, Brisbane. He became the 140th ODI cricketer to represent Australia.
In One-day Internationals Lee is widely regarded as one of the world's finest and most feared bowlers, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006 ^[28] and has been ranked among the top ten ODI bowlers since the start of 2003. He has a wide array of deliveries including a dangerous in-swinging yorker. His bowling strike rate of around 30 puts him amongst the most incisive 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. Lee was the first Australian and fourth bowler to ever achieve this feat in World Cup history.
In the matches Australia played in the 2005-06 triangular one day series, Lee gave an of his useful batting abilities by making 57 in the second game in a 100 run partnership with Michael Hussey to pull Australia out of a middle order collapse. However, he is yet to consistently contribute with his batting, and his current ICC ranking hovers around the 90-100 region.
Lee finished the series with 15 wickets, the third highest tally behind Nathan Bracken and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Lee also has a slower ball in which the amount of pace removed from the ball with no discernible change in grip or bowling action is one of the largest in world cricket. This ball can be anywhere from around 100 km/h to around 125 km/h and is used sparingly.
While Lee's average and strike rate in ODIs rank him as one of the best strike bowlers in ODI history, he can still be erratic occasionally, as shown by his relatively high economy rate.
Lee also has the ability to take wickets very early in the innings, often removing batsmen in the first over of the innings. ^[29]The yorker delivery he bowled to Marvan Atapattu in the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup, reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph).^[30]

Batting

Lee's batting has always shown potential and in recent times has been improving, averaging just over twenty in both forms of international cricket in the last two years. He has said that he would like to become an all rounder though it is not a main priority. During the 2005 Ashes series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, and showed promise as a batsman. Lee's aggressive style and strong physique often yields many sixes, including one six which flew out of the Gabba (Brisbane) during a test match against the West Indies in 2005, billed as the biggest six ever hit at that ground.
On 2 April 2006, Lee hit his highest Test score of 64 in 68 balls against South Africa at Johannesburg. His previous highest score in Tests was 62 not out which he made against the West Indies in 2000 at the Gabba.
Lee's highest score in ODI matches is 57 against South Africa at the Gabba in January 2006 with his previous best being 51 against South Africa in 2002.

Cricket World Cup 2003

During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Brett Lee was one of the leading performers for Australia. He concluded the tournament with 22 wickets off 83.1 overs at an average of 17.90 finishing second to Sri Lankan left-arm fastbowler Chaminda Vaas who took 23 wickets during that tournament. Lee also had a third leading strike-rate of 22.68 behind West Indian fastbowler Vasbert Drakes and Australian counterpart Andrew Bichel who topped the strike-rates with 19.43 and 21.37 respectively.
Lee earned six of his 22 wickets during the group stage, 11 wickets during the Super-six stage, 3 from the semi-final and 2 wickets from the final. He took one five wicket haul, 5 for 42, during this World Cup which was against the Australians' Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand during their super-six encounter at Port Elizabeth. He also earned his first international hat-trick with figures of 3 for 14 against Kenya during the last match of the super-six stage.
Brett Lee peaked during this tournament in terms of his bowling speed. It was at this world cup Lee bowled his previous fastest recorded delivery of 160.7km/h against England at Port Elizabeth during their group match.

Awards

★ The Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year 2000

★ The Wisden Young Cricketer of the Year 1999-2000

★ Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2006

★ Chosen in "Australia's Greatest ODI XI", selected by all Australian ODI representatives

★ Chosen in the ODI Team of the Year 2005 at the ICC Awards

★ Chosen in the Test Team of the Year 2006 at the ICC Awards

★ Chosen in the ODI Team of the Year 2006 at the ICC Awards

★ VB Series Player of the Series 2002-03

★ VB Series Player of the Series 2004–05

★ DLF Cup Player of the Tournament 2006

Off the field

Personal

Lee married Elizabeth Kemp, a podiatrist in June 2006. They have a son named Preston Charles, born November 16 2006.
Lee is part of the rock band Six & Out. The band is made up of his brother Shane and former New South Wales cricketers Brad McNamara, Gavin Robertson and Richard Chee Quee. Lee plays the bass guitar or acoustic guitar for the band.^[31]
During the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India, Lee recorded a duet with India's music diva Asha Bhosle called ''You're the One For Me''. ^[32] The song reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts.
Lee launched his own fashion label ' BL', in 2001.

Endorsements

Lee's sponsorship deals include the breakfast cereal Weet-Bix (which at one time were marketed as "Brett-Bix")^[33], Gatorade and Volkswagen, of which Lee has two vehicles^[34].
On the field sponsorship includes UVEX Safety Eyewear and cricket equipment manufacturer Kookaburra; he uses a bat called 'The Beast'.
Travelex has also developed the game Brett Lee's Backyard Cricket in which a caricature of Lee is featured.
Due to Lee's popularity in India, ^[35] he has a number of major sponsorship deals there, including for Timex watches, New Balance shoes, Boost energy drink and TVS Motor Company.

Charity work

Lee supports a number of charities including the Salvation Army, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Make a Wish Foundation.
He began supporting ADRA along with his brother Shane when a close friend committed suicide.^[36]
He is also associated with charity auction site 'Youth Off The Streets' through his sponsor Gatorade whereby money is raised from auctioned memorabilia in order to provide a program for young people who have been excluded from the mainstream school system but want to acquire skills and an education.
Lee's band Six & Out also performs gigs for charity events.

Career highlights

Tests

★ Lee's best Test bowling figures of five for 30 came against the West Indies at The Gabba, Brisbane in 2005.

★ Lee's 100th wicket was Marcus Trescothick in his 27th Test against England at Sydney in 2003.

★ Lee took his 200th wicket, Mark Boucher, in his 51st Test against South Africa at Durban in 2006.

★ His best Test batting score of 64 was made against South Africa, Johannesburg, 2006

★ He made his 1000th Test run in his 53rd Test against Bangladesh at Fatullah in 2006.

One-day Internationals

ODI Debut: vs Pakistan, Gabba, Brisbane, 1999-2000

★ His best ODI bowling figures of five for 22 came against South Africa, Melbourne

★ Lee's best ODI batting score of 57 was made against South Africa, Gabba, 2005-2006

★ Lee's 100th ODI wicket was Andrew Caddick, against England at the M.C.G. in 2003.

★ Lee's 200th wicket was Marcus Trescothick, against England at Lord's in 2005.

References

External links

★ Cricinfo profile of Brett Lee

★ Brett Lee's Designer label

★ BrettLee.net - The Official Brett Lee Site

★ HowSTAT! statistical profile of Brett Lee

★ 'I Want To Have An Impact On Every Series' - Brett Lee

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