Brett Lee
Encyclopedia
Brett Lee is an Australia
n cricket
er.
After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. In each of his first two years, he averaged
less than 20 with the ball, but since then has mostly achieved figures in the early 30s.
He is an athletic fielder
and useful lower-order
batsman, with a batting average exceeding 20 in Test cricket. Together with Mike Hussey
, he has held the record for highest 7th wicket partnership for Australia in ODIs since 2005–06 (123).
, one of the fastest the game has known.Lee ranks behind only Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar
as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket during most of this decade. Akhtar's delivery at 161.3km/h (100.2mph) stands as the fastest recorded to date.
Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared.
He was also criticised in early 2005 for bowling a series of beamer
s at batsmen during ODIs, at a rate which lead some to claim he was deliberately bowling illegal head high full toss
es at batsmen.
.
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 and 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.
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.
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.
in 1999 but failed to make the starting 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. 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.
Lee took 42 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played. 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.
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, 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. 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.
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 the Zimbabwe series.
in the Indians' first innings of 7/705 where Sachin and V.V.S. Laxman freely attacked Lee and other bowlers in the final Test in Sydney. He ended the series with the worst average and economy rate of Australia's front line bowlers.
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, compared to an 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.
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 40 with the ball for the series, which some commentators have put down to having to bowl longer spells than he was accustomed to at the time , but was retained, in part because of his defiant batting which yielded runs at an average of 26.33. Despite his high bowling average for the series he was considered by many as one of Australia's best players along with leg-spinner Shane Warne
and batsman Justin Langer
.
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', 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. 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
2005–06 tour of Australia, Lee's form saw a steady improvement, with 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
.
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. 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. 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.
In the first three tests of the 2006–07 Ashes series, 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. His performance was bettered by the other three major Australian bowlers: Stuart Clark
with 26 wickets, Shane Warne
with 23 wickets and Glenn McGrath with 21 wickets were ahead of him. Lee was however the fourth highest wicket-taker in the 2006/07 Ashes
series ahead of all the English bowlers.
and Shane Warne, Lee rose to the challenge and was awarded the Man of the Series in the inaugural Warne-Muralidaran Trophy
, a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in late-2007. In his first series as bowling spearhead reaped 16 wickets at an average of 17.5. This was achieved by bowling 5 km/h slower to improve accuracy. In the following series Lee took 24 wickets at 22.58 in four Tests against India. In this series he overtook Jason Gillespie
to become Australia's 5th highest wicket taker. His consistent efforts saw him rewarded with the Man of the Series Award for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
, 2007–08. He capped off the season by winning the Allan Border Medal
, the award given to the player adjudged Australia's best international cricketer of the past year.
Lee seemed underdone in the 2008 Australian tour of the West Indies, taking only 5 wickets in the first Test match, during which he seemed exhausted. He returned to productivity, taking eight wickets in the Second test, including a 5 wicket haul, and 6 in the Third Test.
During the Indian tour, Lee picked up a stomach virus and was unable to find his best form throughout the series. Lee showed glimpses of his best form when the team returned to Australia for a two test series with New Zealand, but generally seemed down on pace. However, he struggled in the two tests he played of the series with South Africa, which Australia lost 2–1, likely due to a niggling ankle injury and then a stress fracture he developed during the series (both in his left foot). The fracture broke completely during the second innings of the Boxing Day Test-match, Lee has since had surgery to repair his ankle and foot and is expected to be out for up to ten weeks.
By the time he returned to the Australian team for the Ashes in 2009, his position as spearhead had been usurped by the left armer Mitchell Johnson
. Additionally, the arrival of bowlers like Peter Siddle
, Ben Hilfenhaus
and Doug Bollinger
ensured that Lee had to fight for a position in the team. However, he took six wickets in the first innings against the England Lions team in a practice match leading up to the Ashes. Lee was the only bowler to get reverse swing in this match and appeared to be in line for selection for the First Test at Cardiff. However, he picked up a left side strain and a sore rib in this match and he was ruled out of the first three Tests. He was then overlooked for a recall and never played test cricket again, announcing his retirement from test cricket at the beginning of 2010.
Lee made his debut in One Day International for Australia
against Pakistan
on 9 January 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, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006 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 a display 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
.
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. The delivery he bowled to Marvan Atapattu
in the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup
, reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph).
, 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 fast bowler 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.
and the Adelaide Oval
against England. In the subsequent ODI series, his return was more successful. He finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with 11 scalps at 24.00, his series best figures of 3/27 coming in the third match at the SCG
. His pace was consistently around the mid 140s km/h and on occasion he once again managed to break the 150 km/h mark. . His good form and fitness have earned him a place in the Australian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup
.
series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, including a stand of 43 not out in the Second Test at Edgbaston
, this was Australia's highest individual score in that innings. This innings nearly won the match for Australia but the other batsman Michael Kasprowicz
was caught behind by Geraint Jones
and England won by just two runs. 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 nearly surpassed this score on 3 January 2008 against India when he made 59 off 121 balls. Lee had also once again nearly surpassed his highest test score when he had made 63 not out, but unfortunately Ricky Ponting had declared the innings in the 2nd test against the West Indies. As a result of this, he fell one run short of his highest test score.
Lee's highest score in ODI matches is 57 against South Africa
at the Gabba
in January 2006.
paid tribute to him saying "Brett is going to go down as one of the great all-time express bowlers in the world ... 150-plus km/h puts a huge strain on the body and it can only take so much. For him to play 76 Tests and 300-odd wickets doing what he does is a credit to him."
His friend, English cricketer Andrew Flintoff
suggested that he should take retirement from Test Cricket
in order to extend his ODI and T20
career.
Buxton), a piano
teacher. He has two brothers, the elder being former Australian all rounder and New South Wales Blues
captain Shane Lee
. His younger brother Grant played cricket for New South Wales
at the under-19 level, and is now an accountant
. 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 (Grant is a qualified pianist). 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 Shoaib Akhtar
.
Lee launched his own fashion label 'BL', in 2001.
Lee married Elizabeth Kemp in June 2006. They have a son named Preston Charles, born 16 November 2006. However, after two years of marriage, on 21 August 2008, Lee confirmed his separation from Kemp. They divorced in 2009.
At the time of the split, media speculation cited Kemp was having an affair with a rugby player in Brisbane; however, this was later disputed, with extended periods of loneliness due to Lee's off-season commitments keeping him away from Kemp and his young son Preston given as the reason for the marriage breakdown.
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.
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
. The song reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts. In 2008, he filmed scenes for his first Bollywood
movie Victory
. He once hosted a short-lived TV program called "Personal Best".
(which at one time were marketed as "Brett-Bix"), Gatorade
and Volkswagen
, of which Lee has two vehicles.
On the field sponsorship includes uvex Safety Eyewear. He is currently not sponsored by any cricket equipment manufacturer.
Travelex has also developed the game Brett Lee's Backyard Cricket in which a caricature of Lee is featured.
Owing to Lee's popularity in India, he has a number of major sponsorship deals there, including for Timex
watches, New Balance
shoes, Boost
energy drink and TVS Motor Company
.
, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA
) and the Make a Wish Foundation, in which Lee was named an 'Official Friend' in honour of his long-standing association with the foundation.
He began supporting ADRA along with his brother Shane when a close friend committed suicide.
, Gabba
, Brisbane, 1999–00
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er.
After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket. In each of his first two years, he averaged
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
less than 20 with the ball, but since then has mostly achieved figures in the early 30s.
He is an athletic fielder
Fielding (cricket)
Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the batsman, in such a way as to either limit the number of runs that the batsman scores or get the batsman out by catching the ball in flight or running the batsman out.Cricket fielding position...
and useful lower-order
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
batsman, with a batting average exceeding 20 in Test cricket. Together with Mike Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
, he has held the record for highest 7th wicket partnership for Australia in ODIs since 2005–06 (123).
Style
Lee is a fast bowlerFast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
, one of the fastest the game has known.Lee ranks behind only Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket during most of this decade. Akhtar's delivery at 161.3km/h (100.2mph) stands as the fastest recorded to date.
Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared.
He was also criticised in early 2005 for bowling a series of beamer
Beamer (cricket)
In the terminology of the game of cricket, a beamer is a type of delivery in which the ball , without bouncing, passes above the batsman's waist height. Such a ball is often dangerously close to the batsman's head, due to the lack of control a bowler has over high full tosses...
s at batsmen during ODIs, at a rate which lead some to claim he was deliberately bowling illegal head high full toss
Full toss
A full toss is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It describes any delivery that reaches the batsman without bouncing on the pitch first....
es at batsmen.
Early career
Lee also played for the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Australian Cricket AcademyAustralian Cricket Academy
The Australian Cricket Academy, originally located at Henley Beach in Adelaide, was formed in 1987 as a joint initiative of the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Cricket Board . It was designed to be a finishing school for leading young cricketers and is a program within the AIS...
.
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 and made his first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
debut for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
against Western Australia
Western Warriors
The Western Australia cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team representing the state of Western Australia...
in a Sheffield Shield match as a 20-year old in the 1997–98 season, playing one match and taking 3/114.
One month later, Lee was chosen to represent the Australian A team
Australia A cricket team
The Australia A cricket team is a cricket team representing Australia and is the second team of the Australian cricket team. They have also played far more one-day than first-class matches; indeed they have played only three first-class games against equivalent A sides, against South Africa A in...
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.
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.
Early Test career
By the late 1990s there were calls for Lee to be included in the national squad. He was eventually chosen in the final 14 for the Test series against PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
in 1999 but failed to make the starting 11. By the time the Test series against India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
came around, he was twelfth man. However, he duly made his Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
debut for Australia
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in December 1999 against the touring Indians
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
, becoming Australia's
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
383rd Test cricketer.
Bowling first change, Lee took a wicket in his first over in Test cricket when he bowled Sadagoppan Ramesh
Sadagoppan Ramesh
Sadagoppan Ramesh is an Indian cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. On debut, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, he made a solid 44 off 41 balls...
with his fourth delivery. He also captured Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid
Rahul Sharad Dravid , is a cricketer in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honoured as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers...
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. Lee took thirteen wickets in his opening two Tests at the low average
Bowling average
Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned...
of 14.15.
Lee won the inaugural Donald Bradman
Donald Bradman
Sir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
Young Player of the Year Award at the Allan Border Medal
Allan Border Medal
The Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
award ceremony in 2000 soon after his debut.
Lee took 42 wickets in his opening three series, the most by any Australian bowler in the seven matches he played. 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
Zimbabwean cricket team
The Zimbabwean cricket team is a national cricket team representing Zimbabwe. It is administrated by Zimbabwe Cricket...
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 ZealandNew Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
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
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
. 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
Andy Bichel
Andrew John Bichel is a retired Australian cricket player and was the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2009 Indian Premier League....
, who was filling for the injured Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
, took eight wickets at 13.25. With the other frontline bowlers all taking wickets at less than 13, Lee was dropped when Gillespie returned for the first two Tests during the 2002–03 Ashes
English cricket team in Australia in 2002-03
-England XI v Western Australia:-England XI v Western Australia:-England XI v Queensland:-England XI v New South Wales, 6 December 2002:New South Wales won by 6 wickets-England XI v Prime Minister's XI, 10 December 2002:...
series. He returned for the Perth Test, after claiming a five wicket haul in a Pura Cup
Pura Cup
The Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
match against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
. He took thirteen wickets at 41.23 in three matches, compared to Bichel's ten at 35.1. After the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
, 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.
Against the Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
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 the Zimbabwe series.
Loss of Test position
Lee took eight wickets in over 100 overs in the final two Tests against India, at an average of 59.50. This Test included a double century to Sachin TendulkarSachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
in the Indians' first innings of 7/705 where Sachin and V.V.S. Laxman freely attacked Lee and other bowlers in the final Test in Sydney. He ended the series with the worst average and economy rate of Australia's front line bowlers.
He was subsequently replaced by fellow fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
in 2004 during the tour of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
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, compared to an 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.
Test return
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
both struggling for form, Lee returned to take the new ball with Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
. He averaged 40 with the ball for the series, which some commentators have put down to having to bowl longer spells than he was accustomed to at the time , but was retained, in part because of his defiant batting which yielded runs at an average of 26.33. Despite his high bowling average for the series he was considered by many as one of Australia's best players along with leg-spinner Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
and batsman Justin Langer
Justin Langer
Justin Lee Langer AM is a former international cricketer who represented Australia in 105 Test matches and the current Assistant Coach and Batting Coach of the Australian cricket team. A left-handed batsman, his opening partnership with Matthew Hayden was one of the most successful of all time...
.
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
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in late 2005 at the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, after declaring that he would sacrifice pace and focus on 'line and length', Lee reverted to his initial style of bowling, based on the advice of his captain Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
after his new method of bowling failed in the first innings. 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
2005-06 Australian cricket season
The 2005–06 Australian cricket season took place from October 2005 to March 2006.-Honours:* Championship – Queensland* Limited Overs KO Cup – New South Wales-Events:...
, Lee's Test figures improved from his 2001–04 difficulties, with a season bowling average of 25.74.
During South Africa's
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
2005–06 tour of Australia, Lee's form saw a steady improvement, with 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
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
'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
Aleem Dar
Aleem Sarwar Dar is a retired Pakistani first-class cricketer and a member of the ICC Elite umpire panel. He won three consecutive ICC Umpire of the Year awards 2009, 2010 and 2011, after being nominated twice in 2005 and 2006. Aleem Dar and Simon Taufel are the only umpires to have received the...
.
With the unavailability of Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
for the tour of South Africa in March–April 2006, Lee became the spearhead of the Australian bowling lineup. In the second Test of that series, at Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, 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. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
. He was unable to maintain his performance when Australia visited Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
for a two Test series, taking two wickets at 93, coming bottom of Australia's bowling averages.
In the first three tests of the 2006–07 Ashes series, he only took eight wickets and was fined for excessive appealing in the Third Test in Adelaide when a LBW
Leg before wicket
In the sport of cricket, leg before wicket is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed. An umpire will rule a batsman out LBW under a series of circumstances which primarily include the ball striking the batsman's body when it would otherwise have continued on to hit the batsman's...
decision was not in his favour. However during the week period between the Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Melbourne tests, he worked with Troy Cooley
Troy Cooley
Troy James Cooley is a former first-class cricketer for the Tasmanian Tigers, and was bowling coach for the England cricket team for several years before returning to Australia in 2006.-Career:...
, 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. His performance was bettered by the other three major Australian bowlers: Stuart Clark
Stuart Clark
Stuart Rupert Clark is an Australian International cricketer who plays domestic cricket for the New South Wales Blues. He plays as a right-arm fast-medium bowler...
with 26 wickets, Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
with 23 wickets and Glenn McGrath with 21 wickets were ahead of him. Lee was however the fourth highest wicket-taker in the 2006/07 Ashes
The Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series ahead of all the English bowlers.
Post McGrath-Warne era
Following the retirements of Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
and Shane Warne, Lee rose to the challenge and was awarded the Man of the Series in the inaugural Warne-Muralidaran Trophy
Warne-Muralidaran Trophy
The Warne-Muralidaran Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Australia – Sri Lanka Test cricket series from 2007/08 season onwards. The trophy is named after the two leading wicket takers in Test cricket, Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and Australia's Shane Warne...
, a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in late-2007. In his first series as bowling spearhead reaped 16 wickets at an average of 17.5. This was achieved by bowling 5 km/h slower to improve accuracy. In the following series Lee took 24 wickets at 22.58 in four Tests against India. In this series he overtook Jason Gillespie
Jason Gillespie
Jason Neil Gillespie is an Australian cricketer who formerly represented Australia at international level, in both Tests and One Day Internationals, and South Australia, Yorkshire and Glamorgan at first-class level. His primary role is as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, but he is also a competent...
to become Australia's 5th highest wicket taker. His consistent efforts saw him rewarded with the Man of the Series Award for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia. It has witnessed some of the most competitive Test series played in recent years, with results usually either being a narrow win for one of the sides or a closely fought draw...
, 2007–08. He capped off the season by winning the Allan Border Medal
Allan Border Medal
The Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
, the award given to the player adjudged Australia's best international cricketer of the past year.
Lee seemed underdone in the 2008 Australian tour of the West Indies, taking only 5 wickets in the first Test match, during which he seemed exhausted. He returned to productivity, taking eight wickets in the Second test, including a 5 wicket haul, and 6 in the Third Test.
During the Indian tour, Lee picked up a stomach virus and was unable to find his best form throughout the series. Lee showed glimpses of his best form when the team returned to Australia for a two test series with New Zealand, but generally seemed down on pace. However, he struggled in the two tests he played of the series with South Africa, which Australia lost 2–1, likely due to a niggling ankle injury and then a stress fracture he developed during the series (both in his left foot). The fracture broke completely during the second innings of the Boxing Day Test-match, Lee has since had surgery to repair his ankle and foot and is expected to be out for up to ten weeks.
By the time he returned to the Australian team for the Ashes in 2009, his position as spearhead had been usurped by the left armer Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Johnson (cricketer)
Mitchell Guy Johnson is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman. He was awarded the International Cricket Council's 2009 "Cricketer of the Year" award, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.-Career:...
. Additionally, the arrival of bowlers like Peter Siddle
Peter Siddle
Peter Matthew Siddle is an Australian Test cricketer. He is a specialist right-arm fast-medium bowler who plays for Victoria and the Australia national cricket team.-Early life and career:...
, Ben Hilfenhaus
Ben Hilfenhaus
Benjamin William Hilfenhaus is an Australian cricketer who plays for the Tasmanian Tigers in Australian domestic cricket. Hilfenhaus plays club cricket for Tasmania University Cricket Club. Prior to turning fully professional, he worked as a bricklayer as well as playing cricket...
and Doug Bollinger
Doug Bollinger
Douglas Erwin Bollinger is a professional Australian cricketer who currently plays first-class cricket for the New South Wales Blues and international cricket for Australia. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-arm fast bowler...
ensured that Lee had to fight for a position in the team. However, he took six wickets in the first innings against the England Lions team in a practice match leading up to the Ashes. Lee was the only bowler to get reverse swing in this match and appeared to be in line for selection for the First Test at Cardiff. However, he picked up a left side strain and a sore rib in this match and he was ruled out of the first three Tests. He was then overlooked for a recall and never played test cricket again, announcing his retirement from test cricket at the beginning of 2010.
One-day International career
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
against Pakistan
Pakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
on 9 January 2000 during the Carlton and United Breweries Series
VB Series
The Australian Tri-Series refers to the one day international cricket tournament held between 1979-80 and 2007-08 between the home side and two touring teams, in the height of the Australian cricket season, i.e. during the summer months of December, January and February. Between 1979–80 and 1995–96...
at the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. He became the 140th ODI cricketer to represent Australia.
In One-day Internationals, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006 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
Yorker
Yorker is a term used in cricket that describes a ball bowled which hits the cricket pitch around the batsman's feet. When a batsman assumes a normal stance this generally means that the cricket ball bounces on the cricket pitch on or near the batsman's popping crease...
. 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
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
to his name, achieved in the 2003 World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
against Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
. Lee was the first Australian and fourth bowler to ever achieve this feat in World Cup
Cricket World Cup
The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
history.
In the matches Australia played in the 2005-06 triangular one day series, Lee gave a display of his useful batting abilities by making 57 in the second game in a 100 run partnership with Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
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
Nathan Bracken
Nathan Wade Bracken is a former Australian cricketer. A tall left-arm fast-medium bowler, Bracken is capable of swinging the ball both ways. He has represented Australia in all forms of the game...
and Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
.
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. The delivery he bowled to Marvan Atapattu
Marvan Atapattu
Marvan Samson Atapattu is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former Sri Lankan captain. Towards the end of his career he joined the Indian Cricket League and captained the Delhi Giants...
in the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup
2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
, reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph).
Cricket World Cup 2003
During the 2003 Cricket World Cup2003 Cricket World Cup
-Group stage tables and results:The top three teams from each pool qualify for the next stage, carrying forward the points already scored against fellow qualifiers, plus a quarter of the points scored against the teams that failed to qualify.-Pool A:...
, 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
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
who took 23 wickets during that tournament. Lee also had a third leading strike-rate of 22.68 behind West Indian fast bowler Vasbert Drakes
Vasbert Drakes
Vasbert Conniel Drakes is a West Indian cricketer. He was a right-arm fast bowler and handy right-hand lower order batsman....
and Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
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'
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
during their super-six encounter at Port Elizabeth. He also earned his first international hat-trick with figures of 3 for 14 against Kenya
Kenyan cricket team
The Kenya national cricket team is the team that represents the country of Kenya in international cricket matches. They are considered one of the strongest of the associate member nations of the International Cricket Council, especially since reaching the semi-final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
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
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Port Elizabeth during their group match.
One day international comeback
After many unsuccessful attempts, Lee finally made a comeback to international cricket in 2011, having not played for Australia for almost two years. He played the two T20s at the MCGMcG
Joseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
and the Adelaide Oval
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
against England. In the subsequent ODI series, his return was more successful. He finished as the leading wicket-taker for the series with 11 scalps at 24.00, his series best figures of 3/27 coming in the third match at the SCG
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. His pace was consistently around the mid 140s km/h and on occasion he once again managed to break the 150 km/h mark. . His good form and fitness have earned him a place in the Australian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. It was Bangladesh's first time co-hosting a World Cup...
.
Batting
During the 2005 AshesThe Ashes
The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, including a stand of 43 not out in the Second Test at Edgbaston
Edgbaston Cricket Ground
Edgbaston Cricket Ground, also known as the County Ground or Edgbaston Stadium, is a cricket ground in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, England...
, this was Australia's highest individual score in that innings. This innings nearly won the match for Australia but the other batsman Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Kasprowicz
Michael Scott Kasprowicz is a former Australian Test cricketer. He is a right arm fast bowler, effective outfielder and useful lower order batsman, and has enjoyed a successful career both in Australia and in the English county scene since making his debut for Queensland as a seventeen year old in...
was caught behind by Geraint Jones
Geraint Jones
Geraint Owen Jones MBE is an England cricketer of Welsh extraction but raised in Australia. Until August 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for England in both Test and One-day cricket, but fell behind Chris Read, Paul Nixon, Matt Prior and Tim Ambrose...
and England won by just two runs. Lee's aggressive style and strong physique often yields many sixes, including one six which flew out of the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
(Brisbane) during a Test match
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
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
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at Johannesburg. His previous highest score in Tests was 62 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
which he made against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in 2000 at the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
. Lee nearly surpassed this score on 3 January 2008 against India when he made 59 off 121 balls. Lee had also once again nearly surpassed his highest test score when he had made 63 not out, but unfortunately Ricky Ponting had declared the innings in the 2nd test against the West Indies. As a result of this, he fell one run short of his highest test score.
Lee's highest score in ODI matches is 57 against South Africa
South African cricket team
The South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at the Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
in January 2006.
Retirement from Tests
In February 2010, Lee retired from Test cricket in a bid to prolong his career in the limited-overs department. He had been repeatedly injured and had not played a Test since December 2008. He played 76 Tests taking 310 wickets. Australian fast bowling great Dennis LilleeDennis Lillee
Dennis Keith Lillee, AM, MBE is a former Australian cricketer rated as the "outstanding fast bowler of his generation"...
paid tribute to him saying "Brett is going to go down as one of the great all-time express bowlers in the world ... 150-plus km/h puts a huge strain on the body and it can only take so much. For him to play 76 Tests and 300-odd wickets doing what he does is a credit to him."
His friend, English cricketer Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
suggested that he should take retirement from Test Cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in order to extend his ODI and T20
Twenty20
Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
career.
Awards
- The Donald BradmanDonald BradmanSir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
Young Player of the Year 2000 - The WisdenWisdenThe Wisden Group was a group of companies formed by John Wisden & Co Ltd, publishers of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As well as John Wisden & Co, the group included the The Wisden Cricketer magazine, Cricinfo – the world's highest traffic cricket website – and the Hawk-Eye computerised...
Young Cricketer of the Year 1999–00 - Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2006
- Chosen in "Australia'sAustralian cricket teamThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
Greatest ODI XI", selected by former and present Australian ODI representatives - Chosen in the ODI Team of the Year 2005 at the ICC Awards
- Chosen in the TestTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
Team of the Year 2006 at the ICC Awards - Chosen in the ODI Team of the Year 2006 at the ICC Awards
- VB SeriesVB SeriesThe Australian Tri-Series refers to the one day international cricket tournament held between 1979-80 and 2007-08 between the home side and two touring teams, in the height of the Australian cricket season, i.e. during the summer months of December, January and February. Between 1979–80 and 1995–96...
Player of the Series 2002–03 - VB SeriesVB SeriesThe Australian Tri-Series refers to the one day international cricket tournament held between 1979-80 and 2007-08 between the home side and two touring teams, in the height of the Australian cricket season, i.e. during the summer months of December, January and February. Between 1979–80 and 1995–96...
Player of the Series 2004–05 - DLF Cup Player of the Tournament 2006
- Warne-Muralitharan Trophy Player of the Series 2007
- Border-Gavaskar Trophy Player of the Series 2007–08
- 2007 McGilvray Medallist for ABC's Australian Test Player of the year.
- 2008 Australian Test Player of the Year
- 2008 Allan Border MedalAllan Border MedalThe Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
list - Chosen in the ODI Team of the Year 2008 at the ICC Awards
- Chosen in the TestTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
Team of the Year 2008 at the ICC Awards - 2009 Champions League 20/20 Player of the Series
Personal life
Lee is the second of three sons born to Bob, a metallurgist and Helen (néeNEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Buxton), a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
teacher. He has two brothers, the elder being former Australian all rounder and New South Wales Blues
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
captain Shane Lee
Shane Lee
Shane Lee is a former Australian cricketer.Lee, an all-rounder, was a hard hitting batsman and medium pace bowler. He was a promising junior, representing the Australia U-19 team...
. His younger brother Grant played cricket for New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
at the under-19 level, and is now an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
. Lee attended Balarang Public School and Oak Flats
Oak Flats, New South Wales
Oak Flats is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia situated on the south western shores of Lake Illawarra. It is a residential area of 6,400 people and has a railway station which was moved in 2003...
High School, which later named its cricket ground in his honour. His nickname 'Bing' refers to 'Bing Lee
Bing Lee
Bing Lee is an Australian retailing company, a chain of superstores specializing in consumer electronics, computer and telecommunication goods. Bing Lee is the largest privately-held electrical retail business in New South Wales with 41 stores and a turnover of about $490 million...
', after a chain of electronics stores in New South Wales.
The brothers enjoyed soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and were encouraged to play the piano by their mother (Grant is a qualified pianist). At sixteen years of age, Lee began playing first grade cricket for Campbelltown
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.- History :Campbelltown...
, where he managed to claim the wickets of a few New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
cricketers. He later joined Mosman
Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
, where at one point, he shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
.
Lee launched his own fashion label 'BL', in 2001.
Lee married Elizabeth Kemp in June 2006. They have a son named Preston Charles, born 16 November 2006. However, after two years of marriage, on 21 August 2008, Lee confirmed his separation from Kemp. They divorced in 2009.
At the time of the split, media speculation cited Kemp was having an affair with a rugby player in Brisbane; however, this was later disputed, with extended periods of loneliness due to Lee's off-season commitments keeping him away from Kemp and his young son Preston given as the reason for the marriage breakdown.
Lee is part of the rock band Six & Out
Six & Out
Six & Out is an Australian rock band. Its name is derived from the backyard cricket rule of Six and Out, which specifies that if a player hits a six that causes the ball to be lost, the player is automatically dismissed from further batting....
. The band is made up of his brother Shane
Shane Lee
Shane Lee is a former Australian cricketer.Lee, an all-rounder, was a hard hitting batsman and medium pace bowler. He was a promising junior, representing the Australia U-19 team...
and former New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
cricketers Brad McNamara
Brad McNamara
Bradley Edward McNamara is an Australian cricketer who has played first-class cricket for New South Wales and also List A cricket once for the Middlesex Cricket Board versus Cumberland at Southgate in 1999....
, Gavin Robertson
Gavin Robertson
Gavin Ron Robertson is a former Australian cricketer who played in 4 Tests and 13 ODIs from 1994 to 1998 after a first-class cricket career that saw him depart New South Wales for Tasmania and then return to New South Wales.Robertson is also a member of the band Six & Out with Australian fast...
and Richard Chee Quee
Richard Chee Quee
Richard Chee Quee is a former first-class cricketer.Chee Quee is notable for being the second player of Chinese origin to play first-class cricket in Australia after Hunter Poon in 1923...
. Lee plays the bass guitar or acoustic guitar for the band.
During the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India, Lee recorded a duet with India's music diva Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
called You're the One For Me
You're the One for Me
"You're the One For Me" is a song written by Australian cricketer Brett Lee during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India. It was released as a duet featuring Lee and Bollywood star Asha Bhosle....
. The song reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts. In 2008, he filmed scenes for his first Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie Victory
Victory (film)
Victory is a 2009 Indian cricket-based sports film starring Harman Baweja, Amrita Rao and Anupam Kher. It is Harman Baweja's second release after his debut film Love Story 2050, which performed very badly at the box office. The movie was filmed in Australia and India, and is said to be one of...
. He once hosted a short-lived TV program called "Personal Best".
Endorsements
Lee's sponsorship deals include the breakfast cereal Weet-BixWeet-Bix
Weet-Bix is a high-fibre breakfast biscuit manufactured in Australia and New Zealand by the Sanitarium Health Food Company, and in South Africa by Bokomo....
(which at one time were marketed as "Brett-Bix"), Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
and Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, of which Lee has two vehicles.
On the field sponsorship includes uvex Safety Eyewear. He is currently not sponsored by any cricket equipment manufacturer.
Travelex has also developed the game Brett Lee's Backyard Cricket in which a caricature of Lee is featured.
Owing to Lee's popularity in India, he has a number of major sponsorship deals there, including for Timex
Timex Group
Timex Group B.V., or Timex Group, is a Dutch holding company headquartered in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, and the corporate parent of several watchmaking companies around the globe including Timex Group USA, Inc., TMX Philippines, Inc., and Timex Group India Ltd...
watches, New Balance
New Balance
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. , best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company...
shoes, Boost
Boost (drink)
Boost is an energy drink brand that is produced in the United Kingdom by Boost Drinks Ltd. The company was founded in 2001, and currently has four different brands.Most of the drinks are packaged in 1 litre or 500ml silver P.E.T bottles....
energy drink and TVS Motor Company
TVS Motors
TVS Motor Company is the third largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India.It is the flagship company of the parent TVS Group employing over 40,000 people with an estimated 15 million customers. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and auto rickshaws...
.
Charity work
Lee supports a number of charities including the Salvation ArmySalvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA
Adventist Development and Relief Agency
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief...
) and the Make a Wish Foundation, in which Lee was named an 'Official Friend' in honour of his long-standing association with the foundation.
He began supporting ADRA along with his brother Shane when a close friend committed suicide.
Tests
- Lee's best Test bowling figures of five for 30 came against the West IndiesWest Indian cricket teamThe West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
at The GabbaBrisbane Cricket GroundThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
in 2005 - Lee's 100th wicket was Marcus TrescothickMarcus TrescothickMarcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
in his 27th Test against EnglandEnglish cricket teamThe England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at SydneySydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
in 2003 - Lee took his 200th wicket, Mark BoucherMark BoucherMark Verdon Boucher is a South African cricketer, who holds the record for the most Test dismissals by a wicket-keeper. He was educated at Selborne College and has represented Border, Africa XI, ICC World XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League, and...
, in his 51st Test against South AfricaSouth African cricket teamThe South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
at Durban in 2006 - His best Test batting score of 64 was made against South AfricaSouth African cricket teamThe South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, Johannesburg, 2006 - He made his 1,000th Test run in his 53rd Test against BangladeshBangladeshi cricket teamThe Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
at FatullahNarayanganj Osmani StadiumNarayanganj Osmani Stadium is a sports stadium located in Fatullah, in central Bangladesh...
in 2006 - Lee's 250th wicket was Anil KumbleAnil KumbleAnil Kumble is a former Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian Test cricket team. He is a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-hand batsman. He is currently the leading wicket-taker for India in both Test and One Day International matches...
in his 62nd Test against IndiaIndian cricket teamThe Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
at MelbourneMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in 2007 - Lee's 300th wicket was Jamie HowJamie HowJamie Michael How is a cricketer who plays Test match, One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket for New Zealand. He attended Palmerston North Boys' High School. In New Zealand domestic cricket, he plays for and captains Central Districts. How is a steady scoring, right-handed...
in his 73rd Test against New ZealandNew Zealand cricket teamThe New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
at BrisbaneBrisbane Cricket GroundThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
on 22 November 2008
One-day Internationals
ODI Debut: vs PakistanPakistani cricket team
The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
, Gabba
Brisbane Cricket Ground
The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, Brisbane, 1999–00
- His best ODI bowling figures of five for 22 came against South AfricaSouth African cricket teamThe South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, MelbourneTelstra DomeDocklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia... - Lee's best ODI batting score of 57 was made against South AfricaSouth African cricket teamThe South African national cricket team represent South Africa in international cricket. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council, also known as ICC, with Test and One Day International, or ODI, status...
, GabbaBrisbane Cricket GroundThe Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as The Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. It is named after the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located....
, 2005–06 - Lee's 100th ODI wicket was Andrew CaddickAndrew CaddickAndrew Richard Caddick is a retired cricketer who played for England as a fast-medium bowler. At 6 ft 5in, Caddick was a successful bowler for England for a decade, taking 13 five-wicket hauls in Test matches...
, against EnglandEnglish cricket teamThe England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at the M.C.G.Melbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
in 2003 - Lee's 200th wicket was Marcus TrescothickMarcus TrescothickMarcus Edward Trescothick MBE is an English cricketer. He plays first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. A left-handed opening batsman, he made his first-class debut for Somerset in 1993 and quickly established...
, against EnglandEnglish cricket teamThe England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
at Lord'sLord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
in 2005 - Lee's 300th wicket was Darren SammyDarren SammyDarren Julius Garvey Sammy is a Saint Lucian cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. He is a right-handed batsman and a fast-medium bowler. On making his One Day International debut against Bangladesh in 2004, Sammy became the first person from the island of St. Lucia...
, against West Indies at St George's in 2008 - Lee's 350th wicket was Nuwan KulasekaraNuwan KulasekaraKulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He was educated at the Bandaranayake College-Gampaha. He is principally a fast-medium bowler....
, against Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
at KandyPallekele International Cricket Stadium-ICC World Twenty20:Sri Lanka will host the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. Nine matches are due to play in Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Other matches will be played in R...
in 2011 thus becoming just the second bowler in Australian History to get 350 Wickets. - Lee is the first (and currently the only) bowler to take 5 wickets twice in One Day Internationals played at Lord's
Other
- Lee was the first player in Twenty20 InternationalTwenty20 InternationalA Twenty20 International is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket...
cricket to take a Hat-trickHat-trickA hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
. - Lee played for the Kings XI PunjabKings XI PunjabKings XI Punjab is a cricket franchise based in Mohali, Punjab in the Indian Premier League. For the IPL3, an additional venue has been chosen at Dharamsala.-Franchise History:...
team owned by Bollywood actress Preity ZintaPreity ZintaPreity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
and Businessman Ness WadiaNess WadiaNess Wadia is an Indian businessman belonging to the Wadia family. He is currently the Managing Director of the Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, a company which has holdings in most of the Wadia Group subsidiaries, including an indirect majority stake in Britannia Industries...
in the Indian Premier LeagueIndian Premier LeagueThe Indian Premier League is a professional league for Twenty20 cricket competition in India. It was initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered in Mumbai, and is supervised by BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla, who serves as the league's Chairman and Commissioner... - He will now be playing for the Kolkata Knight RidersKolkata Knight RidersKolkata Knight Riders is the franchise representing Kolkata in the Indian Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket tournament. Sourav Ganguly led the team in IPL1 and IPL3, Brendon McCullum in IPL2, and Gautam Gambhir in IPL4...
during the 2011 season. - Soon after Lee was selected for Australia, a racing greyhoundGreyhoundThe Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
was named after him and was regarded as one of the best greyhounds in Australian history after winning 31 of 39 races and breaking six track records before its death in August 2010