Brett Lee Retires quits International Cricket images pics profile Bowling song family Biography

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Brett Lee

"Brett Lee quits international cricket"

[ TIME WAS RIGHT TO RETIRE_Brett Lee ]

Brett Lee was sent home from the ODI series in England with a calf injury.

Yes, he is battling an injury, the calf muscle strain that forced him home from the one-day tour of UK that ended in a disastrous 4-0 series loss to England. And yet Lee has had many injuries, far more than his fair share if truth be known, over the course of an international career that stretches back to the last century, to the Boxing Day Test of 1999 against India.

He has been through the rehabilitation process more times than he can count but on awakening in Sydney today, it dawned on him that he no longer was capable of making the total commitment required of an international cricketer.

More than likely he could have made his way back in time to play for Australia one last time at the World Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka in September-October, the event he had long been targeting as his international swansong, but his mind and body were telling him they already had clocked off.

 “I woke up this morning and just felt like I was ready,” Lee told a press conference at his beloved SCG early this afternoon. “I think personally in a team environment you have to have 100 per cent commitment, mentally and physically. And I guess looking at the next few months I just didn’t have that desire any more.

“It wouldn’t be fair on me or my team if I went in with that attitude. You get to the point in life where you say enough is enough.”

Brett Lee During World Cup_2011

Yet before Lee reached that point as a 35-year-old, he had taken 310 Test wickets in 76 Tests at 30.82 - backed up by 1451 runs at the nearly-an-allrounder average of 20.15 – to be fourth on the all-time Australian bowling list behind Shane Warne (708), Glenn McGrath (563) and Dennis Lillee (355).

And in terms of one-day cricket, only McGrath with 381 wickets ranks ahead of him – and that by a solitary wicket. Lest that statistic somehow be downplayed, here is another that puts Lee’s performance into perspective. McGrath took his tall in 251 ODI’s. Lee compiled his in just 221.

Brett Lee Wickets

The writing was on the wall that Lee was seriously considering his future when he decided not to take up a deal with NSW for next season, this after he was not offered a national contract by Cricket Australia in the latest round of agreements.

It may be that only when Lee’s achievements go into history that his contribution to Australian cricket is fully appreciated. Somehow, even on the recent tour of England, he still looked like that young blond tearaway who terrorised India in his Test debut so long ago.

Brett lee Averages

As he put it on Twitter this morning, “It’s been an amazing 13 years!”

Brett Lee excelled as an exponent of extreme speed over a decade without achieving the all-conquering success required to earn the tag of a true Test great. Fast and with a flashy smile that added to his star quality, he finished as Australia's fourth-most successful bowler with 310 wickets in 76 matches. A refusal to bow to severe injuries increases his rating, but for most of his career he operated as brutal support for Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie. In his final two years he was a highly dependable attack leader until his body limited his ability to back up in five-day contests.

At his best he gained outswing with the new ball and reverse with the older one, making him even more difficult for batsmen trying to steady themselves while knowing he could reach 160kph. The charging run-up and leaping celebrations added to the theatre for a bowler who made an instant impact when taking five wickets on debut at the MCG. Forty-two victims came in his opening seven Tests to gain him an A-list reputation, but he was soon in rehabilitation after an elbow operation. His ankles were a popular site for surgery and there were also side strains and stress fractures in a familiar cycle of breath-taking pace, painful injury and long-term layoff.

Brett Lee in Early days as a Child

After starting by shaking up batsmen with short balls and yorkers, Lee became a smarter operator under Ricky Ponting's captaincy and knew when to deliver a burst of speed or a containing spell. In nine Tests following McGrath's departure, Lee stood up with 58 victims at 21.55 and also won the Allan Border Medal in 2008. During that period he helped keep the rebuilding side on top of the world.

Life soon became harder again and after returning from more ankle surgery - his last act in a Test was limping off the MCG with a broken foot - he missed the 2009 Ashes with a side strain. England wasn't a kind host for Lee, who was consoled by Andrew Flintoff during his absorbing yet heart-breaking batting near-miss in Edgbaston in 2005. He was a courageous run-maker who would deflect or absorb the efforts of opposing fast men as they searched for payback.

A gentleman off the field, he was aggressive on it and rarely went over the top in comparison to his team-mates, although his bouncers at the tail-enders were uncomfortable viewing. Mostly he was a shining example to young players in all forms of the game. When retiring from Tests at the beginning of 2010 he hoped to prolong his career in the shorter forms. In those affairs he could stay true to himself by attempting to operate at optimum speed while reducing the load on his aching body.
Maintained a Great & Friendly with Sachin Tendulkar:-

Brett Lee With Sachin Tendulkar

Brett Lee with Sachin Tendulkar.

"He is a legend. It is a pleasure to bowl him," says the Aussie.

Not only ago, it was reported that former Australian cricketers and commentators expressed reservation about Brett Lee’s recuperation post surgery and also, if he was in mental shape to lead Australia in the Ashes against England.

Now there is more by way of concern as Lee struggles to find a place behind Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus and is looked in the battle for a fourth fast bowler in the team with Stuart Clark.

While Jason Gillespie, who himself was dropped after the Ashes 2005, believes that Lee will continue to struggle until he learns to master the English conditions. One of the contentions against Lee is that he is unwilling to give up the aspect of speed in his bowling. Even as age thirty-two, Lee believes he can run in and bowl faster than he has simply because he has missed a lot of cricket through injuries and therefore, fresher for the challenge.

However, former fast bowlers feel unless Lee learns to add more to his game than pure pace, he is likely to lose out to younger, more energetic Australian bowlers who are willing to experiment.

Brett Lee says....

Brett Lee says 'He quits International Cricket'

Brett Lee has confirmed his retirement from international cricket, but he has declared his intention to play on in the Big Bash League and the IPL. Lee, 35, had originally planned to retire after the ICC World Twenty20 in September, but after flying home early from the ODI series in England due to a calf injury, he decided the time was right to make way for Australia's young fast bowlers.

He will depart the game as the equal leading wicket taker for Australia in one-day internationals, having moved level with Glenn McGrath on 380 victims, although McGrath also took one wicket for the ICC World XI, taking his career tally to 381. Lee retired from Test cricket in February 2010, but remained a valuable player in the shorter formats, for his country and his various domestic teams around the world.

Lee's final appearance for Australia came in Durham last week, when he hurt his calf while bowling the third over of his 221st one-day international. Lee said he wondered as he was clapped off whether it would be the end of his international career, and he made his decision on Friday morning before making the retirement official with an announcement at the SCG.

"I guess you ask yourself a lot of questions when you've been injured or been through a tough time," Lee said. "It's been the last two or three nights I have thought about it a lot. I woke up this morning and I knew this was the right day to do it.

"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.

"The great run must end. It was going to be post-World Cup [Twenty20]. We had spoken about that with the selectors and that was the time I was going to walk away from the game. But I woke up this morning and just felt like I was ready. It was time to go."

Lee made his debut for Australia in the 1999 Boxing Day Test against India and he will retire as international cricket's tenth leading wicket taker of all time, with 718 victims across all three formats. He has been involved in a World Cup triumph in 2003 and three successful Ashes campaigns, and although he will leave on the low of a 4-0 one-day loss to England, Lee said he was confident Australia were heading in the right direction.

"What I can say about the Australian cricket team right now is that we are guided by a terrific guy in Michael Clarke," Lee said. "I think he's been a terrific captain. He's got a great cricket brain. We've just got to back the guys we've got around us and realise that we don't make superstars overnight.

"We can't expect guys to go out there and get five-for in their first match, or a hundred. The guys need to take time to get used to their spot. There's a lot of unfair pressure coming from all angles on the players these days. Pick a group and try to stick with them I reckon is the best advice."

Brett Strikes

One of those young men who will play a key role in Australia's fortunes over the next decade is Pat Cummins, the 19-year-old fast bowler. Cummins has already been struck down by a number of injuries and has taken advice from Lee, who said he was excited to see what Cummins could deliver over the next few years.

"He's got so much talent. If I had half his talent that he's got at 19, you'd take a million Test wickets," Lee said. "He's a wonderful guy, he's a guy that listens, he's got a great body to bowl fast. The thing I told him the other day is that you are going to get injured, unfortunately. If you put yourself and your body on the line every single time you bowl a ball, the chances are you will get injured.

"You've got to learn how to deal with that, learn how to deal with the media saying you're injury prone, how to deal with people saying you've got to bowl 150ks every single ball. It's tough, it's challenging. I know that he can do it."

Lee was in and out of Australia's side so often due to injury in his career that he said he'd had "more sequels or comebacks than Rambo". He missed the 2007 World Cup due to a serious ankle injury and also suffered back, abdomen, side, elbow and foot problems throughout his 13-year international career, but he said he had no regrets about the toll his style had taken on his body.

"It may be a little bit crazy to be a fast bowler, to put your body on the line every single time," Lee said. "I've always said that if you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space. That's the way I've always played my cricket. If I've done something I've done it pretty well [injuries]. This calf tear is the first proper torn muscle I've had in 20 years of cricket, so I can't really ask my body for much more than that.

"There's still the Big Bash, there's the IPL. I'm not totally losing my cricket thrill or the chance to play cricket. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to play here [the SCG] again. Obviously it won't be for the Australian cricket team, which will be sad. But I know I've made that right call."

Brett Lee retires International Cricket for in formats

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