There
were a lot of happy batsmen out there on July 13, 2012. That day, one of the
world's most fearsome pace bowlers announced his retirement. Brett lee's
retirement from the international cricket was the news which spread like
wildfire around the world. Due to a calf injury, Brett lee had to take the
hardest decision of his life. On his retirement press conference at SCG, Lee
said, “I guess you ask yourself a lot of questions when you've been injured or
been through a tough time. In a team environment, you have to be committed
100%, both mentally and physically. Looking at the next two months, I just
didn't have that desire any more. It wouldn't be fair on me or the rest of the
team if I was to go over there with that attitude - not lack of commitment, but
you just get to a point in your life when you decide enough is enough. I knew
this was the right day to do it and also the time was right to make way for
Australia's young fast bowlers. The great run must end.” There are many younger
players around who will be filling the spot vacated by Brett lee in the
Australian team. Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are the favourites who will
get this trot.
During
his notable thirteen years of tenure, Lee achieved numerous cricketing feats. For
his sheer pace and regularly clocks 150 km/h and above, he is accredited by the
nickname of “The Speedster”. He was not just quick,
but he could swing the ball at good pace, that was his hallmark. He
played 76 Tests, 221 ODIs and 25 T20s in which he took 310, 380 and 28 wickets and
also had a handy batting average of 20.15, 17.81 and 16.83 respectively. He
retires one wicket shy of McGrath's Australian record of 381 ODI scalps. He has
maintained a stunning strike-rate of 29.4 marginally less than Shane Bond’s
strike rate 29.2 in ODIs (upto 100 wickets). He is only player to have picked up
hat-tricks in both ODIs and T20s and both hat-tricks came in World Cups against
Kenya and Bangladesh respectively. He was also the part of Cricket World Cup
2003 winning team and ended the tourney with 22 wickets of 83.1 overs at an average of 17.90, a wicket behind Sri-Lankan
left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas.
He hurled down the second highest bowling speed 99.9 mph (160.8 km/h) at
Napier, New Zealand, in 2005 slightly less than Akhtar’s fastest 100.2 mph
(161.3 km/h).
Brett
Lee was feted as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2006 as
well as the Wisden Young Cricketer of the Year and Bradman Young Cricketer of
the Year in 2000. He was also included in the ODI Team of the Year at the
inaugural ICC awards ceremony held in 2005. In ODIs, he was ranked by the ICC
as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006. Year 2008 was the golden year of his
life span. In this year, he was a celebrated part of the ICC ODI and Test Team
of the Year and also acquired Allan Border Medal, Australian Test player of the
year and McGilvray Medal.
When
somebody has been trying to bowl over 155km/h for 16 years straight, it takes a
lot of wear and tear on the body. Thus, Lee suffered several injuries but his
comebacks each time were really inspiring. His team spirit, enthusiasm towards
games and never give up attitude make him different from other players. His
capacity to play through pain is well known but if anything that enhanced his
reputation in this regard was the bowling through the latter stages of the
triangular CB Series’12 and the West Indies tour’12 with a broken toe and bowling
at an average speed of 145 km/h. The decision to return well before predicted
eight-week recuperation time was demonstrated his love towards the game. In
World Cup’11 quarterfinal match against India, when he sprinted round the
boundary and dived full length in a bid to save the boundary, the ball hit on
his face and causing a cut to the side of his right eye but he was soon back on
the field with a plaster covering the cut and dodged the set batsman Yuvraj
Singh by consecutive three fuller deliveries just inside the wide line. That’s
the real spirit of the game.
Lee’s
contributions are outstanding in world as well as Australian cricket. In his
presence, winning rate of Kangaroo team in Tests and ODIs are 71.05% and 69.23%
respectively. Throughout his career, Lee played in an Australian team that
triumphed nearly every major tournament. Outstandingly, 297 of Lee's 380
wickets came in wins. The percentage of wickets in wins for Lee (78.16%) is
second only to McGrath, who picked up 301 of his 381 wickets in wins (79%). He
had raised the bar for pace bowlers of this generation by bowling consistently
at extremely fast speed even during days before retiring. He inspired young
kids to play cricket and bowl fast. His sledging and wicket celebrating style
were phenomenal. He never indulged in any indecent form of sledging and sledged
the rival player with a witty smile. Although his international playing career
has over, he will continue playing in India's lucrative IPL Twenty20 league and
Australia's Big Bash T20 series.
There is an artistic side to Lee too,
away from the cricket meadow. He plays bass and acoustic guitar for the rock
band “Six and Out” alongside other New South Wales cricketers. And he has become
enormously popular in India where he wrote and recorded the song “You're the
One For Me” with Indian legend Asha Bhonsle, which reached number two on the
Indian charts and led to a role in his first Bollywood movie Victory. In 2007,
he initiated Mewsic, a charitable foundation which aims to ensure that music is
widely recognised as a powerful tool to heal, empower, educated, and advocate
for marginalized children in India. So he considered India as his second home. It
won't be surprising if Lee is seen removing the dust of his guitar or holding
the mike as a commentator in the second phase of his life.
One of the world's great players of
the contemporary era retires but his legacy will live on. Whenever someone says
cricket is the game of passion, enthusiasm, spirit and never give up attitude,
Brett Lee is the paradigm. Many colts, look up to lee, and want to follow his
footsteps. He was a good role model to young troupe in all forms of the game.
Brett has been an absolute ornament to the game; a fine player, a fierce and
brave competitor, a generous opponent and one who always upheld the highest
standards of sportsmanship. His charging run up, leaping celebration and
flashing smile will be missed by all cricket fans. Truly, Brett Lee is the
great ambassador of the game.
MISS YOU
"BINGA"
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