Brett Lee

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Brett Lee Australia (Aus)
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling type	Right arm fast
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	59	150
Runs scored	1098	739
Batting average	21.11	18.02
100s/50s	-/3	-/2
Top score	64	57
Balls bowled	12279	7729
Wickets	231	267
Bowling average	31.60	22.65
5 wickets in innings	7	6
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	5/30	5/22
Catches/stumpings	17/-	35/-
As of February 11, 2007 Source: Cricinfo.com

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

He 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; his batting ability and statistics (1,000 test runs at an average generally in excess of 20) lead many observers to regard him as a potential all-rounder.

A natural and spirited athlete, Lee ranks with fellow Australian Shaun Tait and Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket. ^[2] Akhtar's fastest recorded delivery to date is 161.4km/h (100.2mph) ^[3], while Tait's fastest recorded delivery is 160.0 kmh (99.4 mph) ^[4]

Lee has been described by many, including former Australian Test cricketer Darren Lehmann, as "faster than Shoaib"^[5] and "consistently faster and more accurate than Shoaib Akhtar" by Cricinfo.^[6] Like Shoaib, his galloping run, from a long approach, and explosive delivery are among the most exciting sights in international sport. ^{[7] [8]}

Contents 1 Teams 1.1 International 1.2 Australian state 1.3 Grade cricket 2 Childhood and early career 3 Test career 3.1 Early Test career 3.2 Loss of Test position 3.3 Test return 4 One-day International career 5 Batting 6 Awards 7 Off the field 7.1 Personal 7.2 Endorsements 7.3 Charity work 8 Career highlights 8.1 Tests 8.2 One-day Internationals 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Teams

[edit] International

• Australia (current)

[edit] Australian state

• New South Wales Blues (current)

[edit] Grade cricket

• Campbelltown
• Mosman(current)

[edit] Childhood and early career

Brett Lee is the second of three children born to Bob Lee, a metallurgist and Helen Lee, a piano teacher. He has two brothers, the elder being former Australian all rounder and New South Wales Blues captain Shane Lee and the younger being 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' came about when friends started referring to him as 'Bing Lee', after a chain of electronics stores in New South Wales.

During the school holidays, the young Lee brothers enjoyed soccer, basketball and skiing and were encouraged to play the piano by their mother. Brett Lee was introduced to the game of cricket at the tender age of eight by his brother Shane and showed an instant talent for it. He played his first 'actual' 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 Mosman, where at one point, he shared the new ball with pace rival Shoaib Akhtar. ^[9]

Lee also played for the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams along the likes of future Test team-mates Jason Gillespie and Mike Hussey. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian Cricket Academy with Simon Katich and Brad Haddin.

In March 1994, Lee was selected in the Australian under-19 team to tour India but soon after he was forced out of the cricket scene due to stress fractures in his lower back. However, this did not deter him from achieving his cricket aspirations. He 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 and quickly made an impression with his speed and hostility as a bowler.

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. He then returned to work at Barclay's menswear as a suit salesman where he had gained employment six months earlier. When he turned twenty-one, Lee moved to Sydney to be closer to work and he shared a flat with former New South Wales cricketer, Rod Davison.

In 1999, during a Sheffield Shield match at Perth, Lee had launched an astonishing onslaught on the Western Australian batsmen, the fastest bowling seen in Australia since the days of Jeff Thomson back in the 1970s. He broke Jo Angel's arm. From that point, Australian captain Steve Waugh and then vice-captain Shane Warne began pushing for Lee's inclusion in the Test team.

[edit] Test career

[edit] 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 became the first Australian in 22 years to take a wicket in his first over in Test cricket when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh for four with his fourth delivery. He also claimed the scalp of Rahul Dravid for nine in his first spell before returning to snare three wickets in six balls to finish the innings with figures of 5/47 from 17 overs. Australia had batted first, and Lee made 27 runs before his debut five-for. Lee took thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the impressive 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 debut.

Lee took 40 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played.^[10] However, in his seventh Test, where he took seven wickets including a second-innings five-for in an innings victory 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.

[edit] Loss of Test position

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, averaging more than 55 with the ball during the series. 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 handy contribution of 61 with the bat in the first Test match. The series ended in a 0–0 draw.

Lee only took five wickets in a match on three occasions between the New Zealand series and the 2003 Cricket World Cup. After taking five wickets in the three-Test series against Pakistan in 2002, he was dropped in favour of Andy Bichel for 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.

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 during Australia's Test series against Zimbabwe in October 2003. ^[11] 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. ^[12]

Lee took eight wickets in over 100 overs in the final two, after conceding 24 no balls in the final Test at Sydney, a side-effect of Lee's improperly recovered ankle. ^[13]

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 inconsistent, and from July 2001 to January 2004, he had a Test bowling average of 38.42,^[14] compared to his career average of 31.45.

A quick comeback into the Australian team proved difficult with the selectors opting for Michael Kasprowicz's 'workhorse' ability instead of the hostility and firepower of Lee. The 'Lee or Kasprowicz?' debate was a popular topic of debate for cricket commentators, journalists, analysts and fans alike. It was not until the first Test of the 2005 Ashes series, that he made his way back into the Australian team after impressive one-day form.

[edit] Test return

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 and Australia's once threatening bowling attack looking one-paced, 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 batting which yielded runs at a higher batting average than Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn^[15] but also due to being "the constant in the fast-bowling attack" according to Cricinfo writer Peter English.^[16]

Part of Lee's difficulty at Test level is his rare speed, although 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', ^[17] 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. ^[18] This proved successful and earned him his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests.

Against the West Indies, Lee was credited with 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.

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. The series, however, was slightly blemished, when three Australian players faced disciplinary action, including Lee, who was reprimanded in the Third Test in Sydney for showing dissent towards umpire Aleem Dar.^[19]

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. ^[20] 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 - more than or equal to anyone who have won the Wisden Cricketer of the Year award at the time^[21] - he received that accolade in 2006. During that match, Lee also proved that along with his good form, he was still capable of bowling as fast as he is reputed to bowl.^[22]

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.^[19] 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. His improvement was shown in the 5th test when he was on a hat-trick. 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.^[23]

[edit] One-day International career

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 ^[24] 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.

Lee is also only behind Pakistani spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as the bowler with the second highest number of wickets after 99 ODI matches with 176 wickets. He surpassed Allan Donald as the fast bowler with the most number of wickets after 99 ODI matches.

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 by making 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). 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 devilish 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 bowlers in ODI history, he can still be erratic occasionally, as shown by his relatively high economy rate. However, at his best, he is an extremely damaging bowler and can rip through any batting line-up.

Lee also has the ability to take wickets very early in the innings, often removing batsmen in the first over of the innings. ^[25]His trademark yorker delivery against Marvan Atapattu in the semi-final of 2003 Cricket World Cup which reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph)^[26] is considered one of the best balls of that tournament.

[edit] 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. 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. ^[27]

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.

[edit] Awards

• The Donald Bradman Young Player of the Year 2000
• The Wisden Young Cricketer of the Year 1999-2000
• Nominated for Newcomer of the Year at the 2001 Laureus World Sports Awards
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2006
• Chosen in Australia's Greatest ODI XI
• 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 Year 2002-03
• VB Series Player of the Year 2004–05
• DLF Cup Player of the Tournament 2006

[edit] Off the field

[edit] Personal

Brett Lee married Elizabeth Kemp, a podiatrist by profession, on June 3, 2006. The couple 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 and acoustic guitar for the band. He also plays the piano and owns a black Bosendorfer grand piano. ^[28]

During the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India, Lee recorded a duet with India's music diva Asha Bhosle [1]. In the song, a foreign boy woos an Indian girl, Lee strums the guitar and belts the number in English and Hindi. The song is called You're the One For Me, and the video was recorded in under three hours. ^[29] The song debuted at number four on the Indian charts and reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts.

He is also a blossoming entrepreneur with his own coffee shop called 'Fusions Café & Book Shop' ^[30] and his own restaurant which specialises in Indian cuisine, inspired by Lee's love for Indian food.

Lee launched his own fashion label 'BL', in 2001. He designs all of the clothing on the label. He also does the modelling for the catalogs.

A few other hobbies of Lee's are freshwater fishing and surfing which he tries to fit in whenever he has time off.

He also had a cameo appearance in a short film called "dream date", directed by Lee's childhood friend Adam Rainford. ^[31]

Lee is also decidedly popular with female fans and is considered the 'pin-up boy' of Cricket. In 2001, Lee was voted runner-up in Cleo Magazine's annual Bachelor of the Year contest. ^[32]

As a special guest, he and Shane Lee appeared on the show Changing Rooms, hosted by Suzie Wilks, where they renovated each other's room with help from a professional designer.

[edit] Endorsements

Brett Lee's sponsorship deals include with the breakfast cereal Sanitarium's Weet-Bix (which were at one time marketed as "Brett-Bix")^[33] and Gatorade. His other major sponsorship deals are Volkswagen, of which Lee has two vehicles: the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Volkswagen Touareg, ^[34] UVEX Safety Eyewear and cricket equipment manufacturer Kookaburra. Lee uses the Kookaburra bat aptly 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 immense popularity in India, ^[35] he has a number of major sponsorship deals there. Lee is the Brand Ambassador for Timex watches ^[36] in India and New Balance shoes. ^[37] He is also sponsored by Boost, an energy drink sold in India and by TVS Motor Company (TVS-M). He also sponsors Skins.net

Some of his past sponsors are BMW, which gifted Lee with a BMW Z3 convertible sports car, Bolle Sunglasses, Hasbro toys and Vortex of which there is a range of products using the fastbowler's image.

[edit] Charity work

Brett 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 of theirs committed suicide. From that point, they became heavily involved in helping youths in the same crisis.^[38]

In 2004, Lee took fourteen year old cancer patient Sarah Genuis to the Allan Border Medal award ceremony through the Make a Wish Foundation before her bone-marrow transplant. ^[39]

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 and performed at the 'Cricket Rocks' children's cancer charity dinner which was hosted by Ricky Ponting and his wife Rianna.

[edit] Career highlights

[edit] Tests

Test Debut: vs India, Melbourne, 1999-2000

• Lee achieved bowling figures of five for 47 on debut.
• 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.

[edit] 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 (Match was played at Telstra Dome because of renovations to the MCG in preparation for the 2006 Commonwealth Games), 2005-2006
• 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.
• Lee has an ODI hat-trick, achieved during the 2003 Cricket World Cup against Kenya.

[edit] References

[edit] 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
• Brett Lee's musical career

	Australia squad - 2007 Cricket World Cup
1 Ponting | 2 Gilchrist | 3 Hayden | 4 Clarke | 5 Hussey | 6 Hodge | 7 Watson | 8 Symonds | 9 Haddin | 10 Hogg | 11 Lee | 12 Johnson | 13 Tait | 14 Bracken | 15 McGrath | 16 Clark | Coach: Buchanan Brett Lee was named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament

	Australia squad - 2003 Cricket World Cup
1 Ponting | 2 Gilchrist | 3 Bevan | 4 Bichel | 5 Bracken | 6 Gillespie | 7 Harvey | 8 Hauritz | 9 Hayden | 10 Hogg | 11 Lee | 12 Lehmann | 13 Maher | 14 Martyn | 15 McGrath | 16 Symonds | 17 Warne | 18 Watson | Coach: Buchanan Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne and Shane Watson were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament

Persondata
NAME	Lee, Brett
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cricketer
DATE OF BIRTH	November 8, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wollongong, New South Wales
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH