Brett Lee

Brett Lee Biography

Brett Lee, the tearaway Australian pacer is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of pace bowling in world cricket. Blessed with a rare ability to bowl fast along with reverse swing in his armory, Lee became one of the pillars of the intimidating Australian pace attack of the 20.

Early background

Born on 8th November 1976, Lee was fascinated to cricket and always dreamt of being the fastest bowler in the world. He started his cricketing career by playing for the junior team of the local side, Oak Flat Rats.

Gradually, he made it to the New South Wales team on the back of some impressive performances for U-17 and U-19 Australian teams.

Lee’s ability to bowl quick impressed the then Aussie Skipper Steve Waugh, paving the way for his inclusion in the Australian squad against touring India. Lee announced himself on the big stage in the best possible way by picking up seven wickets on his test debut in 1999, including a fifer in the first innings.

However, with a series of injures, he was out for about an year soon after his debut.

Rise to glory

Lee made his ODI debut in 2000 against Pakistan and became one of the cornerstones of the pace attack since then.

He turned a new chapter in his cricketing career at the World Cup in 2003 where his 22 wickets played a pivotal role in Australia winning the trophy. He also recorded a hat trick against Kenya, becoming the first Australian bowler to do so.

Lee managed to cross the extraordinary 100 miles per hour mark on many occasions in his career with his quickest in ODIs being 161.1 km/h in 2005. Lee remained in top 10 ODI bowlers since 2003 and scaled the summit in 2006.

Brett Lee Achievements

Lee prominently changed his bowling style under the charismatic Ricky Ponting's captaincy resorting to a quick burst of pace in short spells or longish containing spells. This immediately paid dividends in the 2005 Ashes with Lee having a reasonably good series along with his runs down the order also helping team’s cause.

Following the retirements of Aussie greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, Lee admirably took on the responsibility of leading the pace attack and was the Man of the Series in Border-Gavaskar series in 2007-08.

Apart from being named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the year, Lee also won the prestigious Allan border medal in 2008. During the same period, Australia was going through the tough rebuilding phase and Lee ensured Aussie domination with several winning performances.

Retirement

Unfortunately, it was the same old story for Lee in 2009 as he suffered from another ankle injury and a side strain effectively ruling him out of Ashes, the same year.

This was the same time, when he faced stiff competition from young emerging bowlers, especially in tests. In a bid to prolong his international career, Lee retired from tests in February 2010.

The pacer played a vital role in Australia's march to the quarter final of 2011 World Cup, where he finished as his team's highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets. Lee retired from international cricket on 13 July 2012, finishing with 380 wickets in ODIs, joint highest for Australia along with his bowling partner McGrath.

Post-retirement, Lee was part of different T20 franchises around the globe, including the IPL. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders and was the member of the victorious team in 2012.

Lee, a music lover who had a great relationship with India, also founded ‘Mewsic’, a charitable foundation for underprivileged young people, in 2007. A charismatic personality, on and off the field, the Australian quick will always be a role model for aspiring young pace bowlers not only for his bowling exploits but also as a thorough gentleman who played the game in the right spirit.