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. Practitioners are usually known as fast bowlers, fastmen, pace bowlers, or pacemen, although sometimes the label used refers to the specific fast bowling technique the bowler prefers, such as swing bowler or seam bowler.

The main aim of fast bowling is to bowl the hard cricket ball at high speed and to induce it to bounce off the pitch in an erratic fashion or move sideways through the air, factors which make it difficult for the batsman to hit the ball cleanly. A typical fast delivery has a speed in the range of 136 to 150 km/h (85 to 95 mph). The fastest delivery officially recorded was clocked at 161.38 km/h (100.3 mph) and was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan during a match against England in the 2003 World Cup. The batsman facing the delivery was Nick Knight, who guided it into the leg side.^[1]

In most cricketing countries, fast bowlers are considered to be the mainstay of a team's bowling attack, with slower bowlers in support roles. In the subcontinent, especially Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and now increasingly Pakistan as well, the reverse is often true, with fast bowlers serving mainly to soften the ball up for the spinners. This is largely due to the condition of the pitches used in those countries which gives more help to spinners than to fast bowlers, but at international level it is also a reflection of the outstanding skills of their spinners compared to their pace bowlers.

Categorisation of fast bowling[link]

It is possible for a bowler to concentrate solely on speed, especially when young, but as fast bowlers mature they pick up new skills and tend to rely more on swing bowling or seam bowling techniques. Most fast bowlers will specialise in one of these two areas and will sometimes be categorised as swing or seam bowler. However, this classification is not satisfactory because the categories are not mutually exclusive and a skilled bowler will usually bowl a mixture of fast, swinging, seaming and also cutting balls, even if he or she prefers one style to the others.

Brett Lee bowling against South Africa at the WACA in 2005.

Instead, it is more common to subdivide fast bowlers according to the average speed of their deliveries, as follows.

There is a degree of subjectivity in the usage of these terms; for example, Cricinfo uses the terms "fast-medium" and "medium-fast" interchangeably.^[2] The fastest bowlers are said to bowl at express pace. For comparison, most spin bowlers in professional cricket bowl at average speeds of 45 to 55 mph (70 to 90 km/h). The ability of some bowlers to deliver a variation ball, faster or slower than their standard, can cause some confusion as they could appear to put them in different categories, for example, Brett Lee bowls his stock ball at around 145 km/h, making him a fast bowler, although he will occasionally bowl a slower ball at around 115 km/h. Conversely, Shahid Afridi, a spin-bowler, has a quicker ball which can reach 130 km/h. However these are rarely taken into account in determining what category a bowler fits in because these deliveries are variations, intended to surprise the batsman, not the standard pace of a bowler.

The slower the fast bowler, the more they have to rely on the variation techniques listed below to get wickets, though fast and to a lesser extent fast-medium bowlers can often get batsmen out through sheer speed and aggression. In practice, very few specialist bowlers fall into the medium-fast and medium categories - bowlers who bowl at this speed are mostly batsmen who can bowl a few overs on occasion. These bowlers are known as medium pacers. The medium-slow and slow-medium categories are mostly occupied by spin bowlers, since a delivery bowled at these speeds with a fast bowling technique, rather than spin, would simply be too easy to hit. Although spinners are sometimes colloquially referred to as "slow bowlers", very few players in professional cricket bowl in the actual "slow" category (below 40 mph or 64 km/h).

Technique in fast bowling[link]

Fast-bowling grip.

Grip[link]

The first thing a fast bowler needs to do is to grip the ball correctly. The basic fast bowling grip to achieve maximum speed is to hold the ball with the seam upright and to place the index and middle fingers close together at the top of the seam with the thumb gripping the ball at the bottom of the seam. The image to the right shows the correct grip. The first two fingers and the thumb should hold the ball forward of the rest of the hand, and the other two fingers should be tucked into the palm. The ball is held quite loosely so that it leaves the hand easily. Other grips are possible, and result in different balls - see swing and seam bowling below. The bowler usually holds their other hand over the hand gripping the ball until the latest possible moment so that the batsman cannot see what type of grip he or she is employing and prepare accordingly.

Run-up[link]

A fast bowler needs to take a longer run-up toward the wicket than a spinner, due to the need to generate the momentum and rhythm required to bowl a fast delivery. Fast bowlers will measure their preferred run up in strides and mark the distance from the wicket. It is important for the bowler to know exactly how long his or her run-up is because it needs to terminate at the popping crease. If the bowler steps over this, he or she will have bowled a no ball.

Action[link]

At the end of the run-up the bowler will bring his or her lead foot down on the pitch with the knee as straight as possible. This aids in generating speed but can be dangerous due to the pressure placed on the joint by this action. Knee injuries are not uncommon amongst fast bowlers: for example the English pace bowler David Lawrence was sidelined for many months after splitting his kneecap in two. The pressure on the leading foot is such that some fast bowlers cut the front off their shoes to stop their toes from being injured as they are repeatedly pressed against the inside of the shoe. The bowler will then bring their bowling arm up over their head and release the ball at the height appropriate to where they want the ball to pitch. Again, the arm must be straight although this is a stipulation of the laws of cricket rather than an aid to speed. Bending the elbow and "chucking" the ball would make it too easy for the bowler to aim accurately at the batsman's wicket and get them out.

Mitchell Johnson bowling. Note the "slinging" action.

Fast bowlers tend to have an action which leaves them either side-on or chest-on at the end of the run up. A chest on bowler has chest and hips aligned towards the batsman at the instant of back foot contact, while a side on bowler has chest and hips aligned at ninety degrees to the batsman at the instant of back foot contact. West Indian bowler Malcolm Marshall was a classic example of a chest on bowler, while Australian pace bowler Dennis Lillee used a side on technique to great effect.

While a bowler's action does not affect the speed at which they bowl, it can limit the style of balls that they can bowl. Although not hard and fast rules, side on bowlers generally bowl outswingers, and front on bowlers generally bowl inswingers.

A variant on the fast bowler's action is the sling (sometimes referred to as the slingshot or javelin), where the bowler begins his delivery with his or her arm fully extended behind their back. The slinging action generates extra speed, but sacrifices control. The most famous exponent of the slinging action is Jeff Thomson, who bowled at extraordinary pace off a short run up. Current internationals who employ a slinging action include Fidel Edwards, Shaun Tait, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell Johnson, and Rubel Hossain.

Follow through[link]

Matthew Hoggard begins his follow-through in training.

After the ball has been released, the bowler "follows through" at the end of his or her action. This involves veering to the side so as not to tread on the pitch and taking a few more strides to slow down. Striding on to the pitch at the end of a delivery can damage the surface resulting in rough patches which spin bowlers can exploit to get extra turn on the ball; doing so is illegal according to the laws of the game. Bowlers who persistently run onto the pitch can be warned, with three warnings disqualifying a bowler from bowling again during the innings.

Line and length[link]

An effective fast bowler needs to be able to hold a consistent line and length, or in common terms, to be accurate. In this context, line refers to the path of the ball towards the batsman, in the horizontal dimension running from the off to the leg side, while length describes the distance the ball travels toward the batsman before bouncing. Length is generally seen as the more important of the two for a fast bowler. The faster the bowler, the harder it is to achieve consistent line and length but sheer speed can make up for the shortfall. Fast bowlers who also manage to be accurate can be devastatingly effective, for example the likes of Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath and South African pace bowler Shaun Pollock.

Line[link]

In modern cricket, the line usually aimed for by fast bowlers is the so-called corridor of uncertainty, the area just outside the batsman's off stump. It is difficult for the batsman to tell whether or not such a ball is likely to strike their wicket, and thus to know whether to attack, defend or leave the ball. This technique was historically known as off theory (contrast leg theory), but it is now so routine that it is rarely given a name at all. Of course, variation in line is also important and deliveries aimed at the leg stump can also serve a purpose.

Precise mastery of the line of the ball is best utilised when a batsman is known to have a weakness hitting a particular shot, because a bowler with an effective line can place the ball in the weak spot time after time. Failing to overcome a persistent inability to hit balls on a certain line has been enough to end the careers of innumerable batsmen once they had been found out by skilled line bowlers.

Length[link]

Lengths of balls showing name & bounce height

A good length ball is one that arrives at the batsman at around waist height. There is no fixed distance to a good length, or indeed any other length of ball in cricket since the distance required will vary with the speed of the ball, the state of the pitch and the height of the bowler and batsman. It should be noted that bowling a "good length" in this sense is not always appropriate - in some situations, on some pitches and against some batsmen other lengths will be more effective. The diagram to the right should help explain what the different lengths mean.

A ball which bounces a little way before the good length and rises to the batsman's abdomen is said to be short pitched or described as a long hop and is easier for a batsman to hit as he will have had more time to see if the height or line of the ball has deviated after bouncing. A short-pitched ball is also at a more suitable height for the batsman to play an attacking pull shot. A ball which bounces way before the good length and reaches shoulder or head height is a bouncer and can be an effective delivery. Any ball which is short enough to bounce over the batsman's head is usually called wide by the Umpire. Bowling short pitched or wide balls is a bad idea as they are relatively easy for the batsman to defend or attack.

At the other end of the scale, balls which bounce slightly closer to the batsman than the good length are said to be full pitched or overpitched or described as a half volley. These are easier for the batsman to play than the good length because they don't have time to move much after bouncing off the seam. Closer still to the batsman's feet is the yorker, a very effective length if bowled correctly. If the ball fails to bounce at all before reaching the batsman it is labelled a full toss. It is very easy for a batsman to play such a delivery as it will not have deviated at all from bouncing off the pitch.

It is because the three effective lengths (good length, bouncer and yorker) are all interspersed by lengths which are easy for the batsman to hit that control of length is an important discipline for a fast bowler. Spin bowlers on the other hand are almost always aiming for the good length but need a much finer control of flight and line to be effective. A fast bowler tries to be physically fit throughout his cricket career, which may span more than a decade. Needless to say that is tough to do and needs a lot of discipline and luck.

Strike bowling[link]

Strike bowling is the term usually applied to bowlers that are used mainly to get a batsman out at the possible expense of runs if the wicket-taking is unsuccessful. For fast bowlers, this can be achieved through sheer speed and aggression, rather than trying to make the ball move through the air or off the pitch. More commonly however, aggressive bowling techniques can be combined with swing bowling and seam bowling techniques to create nigh-on unplayable balls in the hands of a bowler of any speed. The inswinging yorker is seen as particularly deadly.

Bouncer[link]

A bouncer is a ball which is aimed to pitch in the first half of the pitch, meaning it has had time to rise sharply to chest or head height by the time it reaches the batsman. This causes two problems for the batsman who receives the ball. If he or she attempts to play it, their bat will be at eye-level making it difficult for them to watch the ball onto the bat and time their shot correctly. If he or she leaves or misses the ball, it may strike him or her a painful blow on the head or chest and occasionally result in injury. For this reason, bowling spells containing many bouncers are said to be intimidatory bowling.

The usual response to a bouncer is for the batsman simply to duck underneath it, but this requires fast reflexes and a strong nerve and the batsman is sometimes hit in any case. The natural reflex is to attempt to defend one's head with a straight bat but this should be suppressed if possible as the likely result of this will be that the ball flies off the bat at an uncontrolled angle making for an easy catch. Most batsman have panicked and lost their wickets in this fashion several times in their career after prolonged spells of bouncers.

Physically powerful batsmen often attempt to strike the ball on the rise, even though this obstructs their vision of the ball since it is not uncommon that their sheer brute force combined with the speed of the ball will cause it to fly to the boundary. This possibility, combined with the difficulty that the wicketkeeper will have trying to stop a high ball means that bouncers can be expensive in terms of runs against skilled batsmen.

Slower ball[link]

Slower ball grip

A slower ball is a ball which is delivered exactly like a usual pace delivery in terms of action and run-up but where the grip is changed slightly in order to slow the ball down. This deceives the batsman, who will likely attempt to play the ball as though it were at full speed, causing him or her to mistime their shot. The result is usually that the ball strikes lower down the bat resulting in it leaving the bat at a slower speed (a cricket bat has a middle - hitting the ball at this point will result in the maximum possible energy being transferred to the ball; as the ball is hit away from the middle so the energy transferred, and hence the speed, will decrease). Also, the bat will generally have travelled further when it hits the ball and be in the upward part of its arc, causing the ball to leave the bat at a steeper angle. The combination of these can be a slow-moving, looping catch which is relatively easy to catch. In an extreme case, the batsman will play the shot so early as to completely play over the ball, and be clean-bowled.

One of a number of different grips is illustrated to the right. Essentially the only difference is that the middle and index fingers are split and come down on each side of the seam. This causes more drag on the ball as it leaves the hand, slowing down the delivery. Slower balls are also bowled by using the off break grip and finger action used by off spinners. A slower delivery may also be achieved - less commonly - by using a leg spin grip and wrist action or by supporting the upper aspect of the ball with only one finger or with the knuckles.

The slower ball is particularly effective against a batsman seeking to score quickly. Consequently, its prominence has increased with the development of one-day cricket, and particularly at the end of an innings where batsman will attack with abandon.

A more experienced batsman will be able to adjust his/her shot mid-stroke, momentarily pausing so as to middle the ball when it is hit.

Another version of the slower ball also known as the SLOB, is released with the top fingers only. Aimed as a "beamer", the method of delivery causes the ball to drop dramatically in flight and arrive at a yorker length. This was most famously used by Chris Cairns to Chris Read causing him to duck into a full length ball which sent stumps flying.

Yorker[link]

A yorker is a ball which bounces off the pitch right in front of (or is aimed at the toes of) the batsman's feet, an area known as the block hole. Because of the usual stance of the batsman and the regulation length of the cricket bat the bat is not usually held near the ground while the batsman prepares to strike the ball, so playing a yorker requires the batsman to alter the height of his or her bat very quickly after detecting a yorker has been bowled. This is difficult, and the yorker can often squeeze through the gap and break the wicket. Successfully playing this type of delivery is also known as digging out a yorker.

Bowling a yorker requires pinpoint accuracy since bowling it slightly too long will result in a full toss or full pitched delivery which is easy for the batsman to play because the ball has not deviated by bouncing off the pitch. It also has most of its value as a surprise ball. For these two reasons, yorkers are not common deliveries in most circumstances.

In the latter stages of an innings in one day cricket, batters seek to attack every ball bowled. In such circumstances, the yorker is a particularly effective delivery, both in taking wickets and preventing boundaries from being hit. Therefore, the yorker is very frequently bowled in these circumstances, and bowlers who can bowl yorkers accurately are prized in this form of cricket.

Seam bowling[link]

Andrew Flintoff of England bowls in the nets, watched by Kevin Shine. Note the upright seam

Seam bowling is the act of using the seam of the ball to cause the ball to bounce in an unpredictable fashion when it hits the pitch. A good batsman will be able to predict where a ball is going to bounce and from that work out what height the ball will be when it reaches him or her. By generating variations in bounce, the bowler can make it more likely the batsman will make a mistake in his assessment of the ball and give away their wicket.

Seam deliveries can be bowled at any pace, but most specialist seamers bowl at medium, medium-fast or fast-medium pace. The basic technique of seam bowling is to employ the normal fast bowling or slower ball grip and to try to ensure that the seam remains upright until the ball hits the pitch. If the seam is upright and the ball is spinning around its horizontal axis, there is no appreciable Magnus effect and the ball will not move in the air. The seam of the ball is raised and will cause variations in bounce and movement if it is the first part of the ball to hit the pitch.

Seam bowlers can get a lot of help from certain types of pitches. Hard pitches that have a cracked or ridged surface are best for seam bowling since the hardness makes it easier to bounce the ball without losing speed while the uneven surface adds to the unpredictability of the bounce when the ball hits the pitch. This is known as variable bounce. On rare occasions a pitch which is extremely hard and uneven will be declared as too dangerous to play on since the batsman cannot predict the ball at all and they are likely to be hit on the body repeatedly as a result. Green pitches can also assist the seam bowler since the tiny tufts of grass represent an uneven surface although this is a mixed blessing since the green surface also slows the ball slightly. It is difficult for a seam bowler to be effective on a very flat and even-surfaced pitch (known as a flat track in cricket vernacular) and seamers usually resort to aggressive bowling tactics and/or bowling cutters on such surfaces.

Cutters[link]

Leg-cutter grip

Off-cutter grip

Main articles: Leg cutter, Off cutter

A cutter is the term used to describe a fast ball which is spinning, that is, a delivery that is rotating around the opposite axis to the seam instead of keeping the seam straight. While this rotation is nowhere near as much as that achieved by a spin bowler, the small variations it can produce are still enough to discomfort a batsman due to the speed of the ball. Cutters can be an effective way for a seam bowler to get the ball to move if he or she is not receiving much assistance from the pitch.

A ball rotating around the seam will move either right or left when it hits the pitch, depending on which way the ball is spinning. A ball bouncing to the right is said to be an off cutter as it is travelling from off stump to leg stump for a right-handed batsman. Conversely, a ball which bounces to the left is a leg cutter, travelling from leg to off stump for a right-handed batsman. Cutters are usually aimed so that they hit the pitch just outside the batsman's off stump and move away from the wicket. This will cause the ball to catch the outside edge of the bat instead of the middle and fly up to be caught in the slips.

To bowl a cutter, the bowler employs a different grip. The two grips are shown to the right, with the uppermost one producing an leg cutter while the lower one shows the grip required for an off cutter. As well as changing the grip, the bowler must pull his or her fingers down the appropriate side of the ball as it leaves their hand in order to impart the required spin. The action of bowling a cutter also increases drag on the ball as it leaves the hand, causing the ball to slow in the same way as a slower ball and this can also help to confuse the batsman.

Swing bowling[link]

Swing bowlers cause the ball to move laterally through the air, rather than off the pitch like seam bowlers. Normal or conventional swing bowling is encouraged by the raised seam of the ball, and conventional swing is usually greatest when the ball is new and therefore has a pronounced seam. As the ball gets older, the wear makes swing more difficult to achieve, but this can be countered if the fielding team systematically polishes one side of the ball while allowing the other to become rough. When the ball has been polished highly on one side and not on the other and if the ball is bowled very fast (over 85 miles per hour), it produces a reverse swing such that the ball swings in the opposite direction as in conventional swing. Contrary to popular opinion, this swing is not produced by air flowing faster over the smooth or "shiny" side as compared to the rough side.

Swing is produced due to a net force acting on the ball from one side; that is, the side with the more turbulent boundary layer. For conventional swing bowling, the raised seam and the direction in which it is pointed governs the direction of swing. Due to the angled seam of the ball, air flowing over the seam produces turbulence on the side that the seam is angled toward. This causes the boundary layer to separate from the surface of the ball later (farther toward the rear of the ball) than the other side where it separates earlier (farther forward on the surface). As explained by Bernoulli's principle, there is a net pressure differential due to the greater pressure on the side with the more intact boundary layer. The resulting net force acts so as to move or swing the ball in the direction of the angled seam. Conventional swing bowling is delivered with the seam angled such that the smooth or polished side of the ball faces forward to move the ball in the direction of the seam i.e. toward the rough side.

A swinging ball is classed as either an outswinger, which moves away from the batsman, or an inswinger, which moves in toward the batsman. In most cases the outswinger is seen as the more dangerous ball because, if the batsman fails to recognise it, it will catch the outside edge of the bat instead of the middle and fly up to be caught in the slips. Inswingers have their place too, especially combined with the yorker as the inswinger can catch the inside edge and break the wicket, or hit the batter on the pad rather than the bat, resulting in a possible LBW decision.

Swing bowling can also be roughly categorised as early swing or late swing, corresponding to when in the trajectory the ball will change direction - the later the ball swings, the less chance the batter has of adjusting his/her shot to account for the swing.

Swing balls are bowled with the same grip and technique as fast balls although the seam is usually angled slightly rather than straight, and the slower ball grip may be used. For an outswinger the shiny side of the ball is nearest the batsman and the seam is angled away from him while for an inswinger, the rough side needs to be nearest the batsman and the seam angled toward them. It is difficult to achieve swing with a cutter grip since the ball will spin in flight, varying the orientation of the shiny and rough surfaces as it moves through the air. Many players, commentators on the game, and fans agree that swing is easier to achieve in humid or overcast conditions, and also that the red ball used in Test cricket swings more than the white ball used in the one-day game.

Reverse swing[link]

Reverse swing is a phenomenon which causes the ball to swing in the opposite direction to that usually produced by the orientation of the shiny and rough sides of the ball. When the ball is reverse swinging, the ball will swing towards the shiny side. Balls which reverse swing move much later and much more sharply than those swinging conventionally, both factors increasing the difficulty the batsman will have in trying to hit the ball.

Reverse swing is much more dependent on conditions than normal swing, and so it is nearly impossible to achieve consistently. Reverse swing does not usually happen until the ball is around 45 overs old, and requires the weather to be hot and dry. The technique of getting reverse swing was first invented and perfected by Pakistani bowlers in the 1980s but has since spread through all the cricketing nations.

In reverse swing, the rough side is placed forward. The seam is angled in the same way as in conventional swing (10-20 degrees to one side) BUT the boundary layer on both sides is turbulent. The net effect of the seam and rough side is that the ball actually swings in the direction opposite to where the seam is pointing to. Good reverse swing bowling requires the bowler to deliver the ball at a fairly high speed (80-85 miles per hour or greater), which is only achieved by a select few fast bowlers in the world.

Now, in one-day cricket the mandatory two new balls rule (which states that two new balls must be used at the start of each innings; one from each end) means that the chances of reverse swing are reduced drastically. This is because, typically, reverse swing tends to start happening at around the 33rd-35th over. With two new balls being used, the amount of wear that each ball is subject to is half as compared to usual. Reverse swing depends on one side of the ball being very worn out, and this is less likely to happen because two new balls are used, as opposed to one.

The turbulent boundary layer separating later is similar to the effect produced by dimples in a golf ball. In case of the golf ball, turbulence is produced on both sides of the ball and the net effect is a later separation of boundary layer on both sides and smaller wake in the back of the ball and a lower net drag due to pressure differential between the front and the back - this enables the golf ball to travel farther.]

Dippers[link]

Main articles: Indipper, Outdipper

A dipper is a swinging ball which is deliberately bowled as a yorker or a full toss; the latter not normally being a ball that a fast bowler would choose to bowl. The indipper moves in to the right-handed batsman while the outdipper moves away.

In order to be effective, a dipper has to generate a lot of swing to make up for the variation in movement lost because the ball is not bouncing on the pitch. However, because the batsman usually expects a full toss to be an easy ball to score off, dippers have huge surprise value and can be extremely difficult to play especially if the bowler is very accurate and manages the yorker rather than a genuine full toss.

Intimidatory bowling[link]

Intimidatory or aggressive bowling refers to a legitimate tactic of bowling with the intent of hitting the batsman with the ball. This is somewhat restrained by some of the laws of cricket, including those which disallow excessive use of bouncers and any use of the "beamer", which is aimed directly at the head on the full. Successful intimidatory bowling usually employs a mixture of bouncers and short-pitched deliveries aimed at the batsman's head, chest, and rib cage. The intention is to disrupt a batsman's focus, and ultimately induce a mistake that leads to the loss of the batsman's wicket. Often the eventual wicket will not fall to a bouncer or short-pitched ball, but instead to a more standard delivery that the batsman is no longer expecting, or is rendered temporarily unable to play in his usual way (by fear, pain, surprise, or some combination of the three).

One classic approach is to deliver several short balls into the batsman's chest, forcing the batsman onto the back foot to defend with a high bat, and then fire in a fast yorker, aimed at the base of the stumps. If the batsman is expecting to play a high back foot defensive, the time it takes to shift their weight to play the ball at their feet may just be enough for the delivery to surprise the batsman and cause him or her to panic, and thus cause the loss of their wicket.

A fast bowler can also employ intimidatory tactics to anger (or frustrate) a batsman into playing a rash shot, by directing the ball to strike the batsman. Intimidatory bowling plays a part in every fast bowlers attack to varying degrees, and even the best batsmen sometimes sustain serious injuries that can force them off the field and out of the game. In almost all instances verbal 'sledging' accompanies the attack.

Excessive use of intimidatory tactics by elite fast bowlers is considered unsportsmanlike, and is shunned by many teams and players. One instance of excessive use was the Bodyline series, where the English Cricket Captain at the time (1932-1933), Douglas Jardine, employed a tactic to restrain the skills of the Australian cricket team, and their star player, Donald Bradman. The tactic was to bowl, very fast and very short, at the batsman's body. After the Bodyline series, as it became known, several laws of cricket were altered to prevent such a tactic being used again, such as a restriction on the number of fielders that can occupy the rear leg-side quadrant of the cricket to two (excluding the wicketkeeper).

Tactics[link]

Because nearly all cricket teams will contain several fast bowlers of differing speeds and styles, the tactics of fast bowling depends not only on changing the field placements but on changing the bowler and the types and sequences of deliveries bowled as well. The precise tactics will be determined by many factors including the state of the game, the state of the pitch, the weather and the relative energy and skill levels of the various players available to bowl.

Fast bowling requires a great deal of energy and most fast bowlers can be expected to bowl a spell of 4-6 overs in a row before requiring a rest. Depending on conditions, they may be required by the team to bowl a longer spell although this usually results in drop in effectiveness toward the end of the spell as the bowler tires. Choosing which balls to bowl as part of a spell and what order to bowl them in is a tactical discipline all of its own.

Deployment of bowlers[link]

Most sides contain a mixture of fast bowlers who specialise in aggressive and/or seam techniques and those who specialise in swing. When the ball is new it usually swings very little but it will generate a lot of speed, bounce and variation off the seam (because the seam on a new ball stands out more than that on an old ball). So seam bowlers are usually chosen to bowl with the new ball either at the start of an innings or when a new ball has been taken, an option the fielding side has once a ball is 80 overs old. In contrast, swing bowlers are more effective once the ball has started to wear and reverse swing requires a well worn ball. Reverse swing bowlers can continue to extract large amounts of movement from balls well over 80 overs old.

Two seam bowlers are usually expected to bowl in tandem for the first 10 or so overs, after which time the ball may begin to swing and one or both of them is substituted for a swing bowler or a spin bowler. This is why most sides opt to include at least two seam bowlers who are known as opening bowlers. Seam bowling usually becomes very ineffective with older balls and is virtually useless after 60 overs or so and as a result the bowling places in the side are filled with swing or spin bowlers.

Deployment of fielders[link]

Fielding for a fast bowler is usually aggressive, that is to say that it is set up for the purpose of getting a wicket rather than preventing the flow of runs. On occasion, particularly when the fielding team is batting last and is chasing a total, a defensive field is required. As a general rule it is difficult to bowl defensive fast bowling - that task is better suited to spin bowlers.

The various techniques of fast bowling lend themselves to three ways of getting the batsman out. They may be bowled or caught LBW either by speed, the yorker or by seam or swing causing the ball to move in toward them, in which case placement of fielders is irrelevant. Swing or seam may be employed to move the ball away from the batsman in which case the ball will strike the outside edge of the bat and may be caught in the slips. A badly-played bouncer will either fly off the outside edge as above or may result in a mistimed shot that can be caught near the boundary.

It follows that the most effective field placements for aggressive fast bowling are to pack the outfield and the slips cordon and gully since these are the positions in which the batsman is most likely to be caught. Placing fielders in the outfield has the additional benefit of limiting the number of places where a batsman can score a boundary. Other close fielding positions such as silly mid on/off and the various midwicket positions are generally redundant.

In contrast, a defensive field for fast bowling will pack the positions such as gully, point and cover in a full circle round the batsman. One or two slips and one or two outfielders will remain in case of a catch. Because batsmen usually try and play shots down on to the ground rather than risking being caught this field can stop most boundaries while remaining close enough to the pitch to attempt to run out the batsmen if they attempt a single. Defensive fast bowling is difficult because a skilled batsman set this type of field will simply trust his or her technique and score from boundaries that they hit over the midwicket ring and away from any outfielders present.

Bowling an over[link]

The primary goal of any bowler is to take the wicket of the batsman. The secondary goal is to prevent the batsman scoring runs. The latter is often a route to the former as a batsman deprived of runs will often become frustrated and is more likely to attempt risky shots in order to score. In addition, stopping the batsman from scoring will usually mean that the bowler gets to bowl several consecutive balls at the same batsman, giving them the opportunity to set up some kind of tactical sequence.

Counterintuitively, the best approach for a fast bowler is not to aim consistent balls at the wicket as this prompts an obvious and easy response. The batsman can simply defend his or her wicket and pick off the occasional bad ball. A far more effective approach is to create uncertainty by bowling a line and length at which the batsman is unsure as to whether they should attack, defend or leave and by mixing up the types of delivery so the batsman is never sure what type of ball is coming next. The majority of balls in a well-bowled spell will usually be swinging or seaming balls that pass at waist height, just outside the off stump and move away from the batsman because this is the area where it is most difficult for the batsman to choose the most appropriate response. Common variations and their tactical application are discussed below.

The precise balls chosen by the bowler during an over will depend on the situation of the match, the skill of the batsman and how settled the batsman is at the crease. It is common to attack batsmen who have recently come to the wicket with successive short-pitched balls or bouncers with the dual aim of getting them out and stopping them from settling into an attacking mode of play for as long as possible. Short balls are more risky against batsmen who have settled at the crease since they make easy boundaries, but most bowlers will still mix a few in during a spell, just to keep the batsman guessing.

Most batsmen prefer to play shots off either the front or back foot and this will influence the bowlers' choice of balls. It is difficult to play short balls off the front foot so bowlers will bowl more short balls at batsmen who prefer the front foot. Likewise, it is hard to play yorkers and full pitched balls off the back foot so those are the deliveries of choice against back foot players. If a bowler can successfully get a batsman playing off his or her less-favoured foot with a sequence of appropriately pitched balls he can then gain an element of surprise by suddenly throwing down the opposite kind of ball - a yorker after a succession of short balls or a bouncer after a succession of full balls. An unobservant or complacent batsman can easily be caught unawares and lose their wicket.

Another variation, especially against batsmen who have settled at the wicket and are starting to score more freely, is to switch the line of attack from the area just outside the off stump to bowling directly at leg stump. The batsman has to react to these balls as he otherwise runs a high risk of being bowled or trapped LBW but as he or she does so his or her bat moves over to the leg side, leaving the off side vulnerable. If the bowler can induce enough movement to the off side with swing or seam techniques it will often catch the outside edge of the bat offering a catch or strike the stumps directly.

It must be remembered that surprise is a big element in bowling, and bowlers will often shun these common tactical approaches in the hope of simply confusing the batsman into playing the wrong shot. For example, bowling a yorker at a new batsman who will likely be expecting bouncers or at least standard line and length balls has been the cause of many batsmen losing their wicket first ball.

Risks of injuries[link]

The human body is not built for the work load of fast bowling. Fast bowling puts extreme pressure on the whole body, especially the feet, back and the shoulder. It puts a lot of body parts under extreme risk of injury. There's a risk of stress fractures in the ankles because of the feet landing hard on the ground at the time of delivery, back spasms and strains because of the arching movement when the ball is delivered and torn ligaments in the shoulder because of the sudden jerk that invariably occurs just before the ball is bowled.

See also[link]

Cricket portal

• Bowling (cricket)
• Spin bowling
• Types of bowlers in cricket
• Cricket terminology
• Cricket statistics

Notes[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2007)

1. ^ Selvey, Mike (2010-07-07). "Shaun Tait is certainly very fast, but 100mph?". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jul/07/shaun-tait-fast-shoaib. Retrieved 2010-07-09. 
2. ^ See, for example, the Cricinfo profiles for Ewen Chatfield, Albie Morkel, and Graeme Labrooy.

References[link]

• Hughes, Simon (2002), Jargonbusting: The Analyst's Guide to Test Cricket, Channel 4 books, ISBN 0-7522-6508-3
• Lewis, Tony (Editor) (1995), MCC Masterclass, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0-297-81578-4

Brett Lee

Personal information
Born	(1976-11-08) 8 November 1976 (age 35) Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Nickname	Bing, Binga, The Speedster.
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm fast
Role	Bowler
Relations	S Lee (brother)
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut (cap 383)	26 December 1999 v India
Last Test	26 December 2008 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 140)	9 January 2000 v Pakistan
Last ODI	19 February 2012 v India
ODI shirt no.	58
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1995 –	New South Wales
2011	Wellington
2011–	Sydney Sixers
Career statistics
Competition	Test	ODI	FC	LA
Matches	76	216	116	256
Runs scored	1,451	1,088	2,120	1,263
Batting average	20.15	17.00	18.59	16.40
100s/50s	0/5	0/3	0/8	0/3
Top score	64	59	97	59
Balls bowled	16,531	10,979	24,193	13,229
Wickets	310	374	487	431
Bowling average	30.81	23.25	28.22	23.98
5 wickets in innings	10	9	20	10
10 wickets in match	0	n/a	2	n/a
Best bowling	5/30	5/22	7/114	5/22
Catches/stumpings	23/–	53/–	35/–	61/–
Source: Cricinfo, 23 March 2012

Brett Lee (born 8 November 1976) is an Australian cricketer.

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.^[1]

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 with 123.^[2]

Lee is known by his nickname 'Binga', which refers to 'Bing Lee', a chain of electronics stores in New South Wales.

Brett Lee also plays for Kolkata Knight Riders,who won the IPL season five against Chennai Super Kings.^[3]

Style[link]

Lee is known for his pace and regularly clocks 150 km/h and above. He ranks behind only Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar (161.3 km/h, 100.2 mph) as the fastest bowler in contemporary cricket during most of the 2000s.^[4] The strain of consistently bowling at 150 km/h caused a string of stress fractures and recurring injuries and forced him to alter his strategy, which he has done effectively.^[5] Rather than relying on pace alone, he uses a wide array of deliveries aimed at wearing down the batsman.

Early in his career, Lee was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but was cleared,^[6] and was also heavily criticised after bowling a series of beamers at batsmen during a number of ODIs in 2005. Captain Ricky Ponting defended Lee saying that it was not intentional.^[7][8]

Batting[link]

Lee is also a competent lower-order batsman. His aggressive style and his strong physique often yields many sixes, including one six which flew out of the Gabba into the practice nets during a Test match against the West Indies in 2005, billed as the biggest six ever hit at that ground.^{[citation needed]}

During the 2005 Ashes series, Lee had numerous defiant innings, including a stand of 43 not out in the Second Test at Edgbaston, 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. After the memorable match, England bowler and captain Andrew Flintoff went over to console Lee, a moment which came to symbolise a hotly contest series.^[9]

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 59 against West Indies at West Indies in March 2012.

Early career[link]

At age 16, Lee began playing first grade cricket for Campbelltown, where he managed to claim the wickets of a few New South Wales cricketers, and Mosman,^[10] where at one point, he shared the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar and briefly played alongside England batsman Andrew Strauss.^[11][12]

Lee was called up to the Australian Under 17 & 19 teams. In March 1994, he was forced out of the Australian under-19 team to tour India due to stress fractures in his lower back and it forced him to remodel his bowling action to minimise the impact on his back. He was awarded a scholarship to attend the AIS Australian Cricket Academy in the 1995–96 season.^[13] His contemporaries included fellow internationals Jason Gillespie and Mike Hussey.^[14]

Prior to making his first-class debut, Lee played for Mosman and played in the final of the 1996-97 Sydney Grade Cricket competition.^[15]

Domestic career[link]

Lee has played domestic cricket for his home state team, the New South Wales Blues, since 1997. He was first named in the squad as the twelfth man for the 14–16 November match against Queensland in the 1997-98 Sheffield Shield.^[16] The following week, he made his first-class debut for the Blues against Western Australia and took 3 wickets at 114, including that of the captain Tom Moody.^[17] It would be his only appearance in the Sheffield Shield for the rest of the season.^[18] He ended a memorable month by taking a 5-wicket haul in the Sydney grade Limited-Overs Cup final against Bankstown on 30 November.^[19]

During the 1998-99 season Lee was a more regular presence in the latter stages of the Sheffield Shield. He took 14 wickets, including a 5-wicket haul against Tasmania in the second innings.^[20] He started the 1999-2000 season by claiming 8 wickets in his first two matches. Such strong performances culminated in his Test debut in December 1999 and he finished the season as the Blues' second-highest wicket taker in the Pura Cup, 24 wickets in 5 matches.^[21]

In 2009 he battled back from injury and was a key player in the Blues' success during the Champions League Twenty20. He was named Man of the Match in the final^[22] and also won the Man of the Series award.^[23]

International career[link]

One month after making his first class debut, 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.

Test career[link]

By the late 1990s there were calls for Lee to be included in the national squad. Captain Steve Waugh, who also played with him for New South Wales, was impressed by Lee's debut and pushed for his inclusion into the national team. He was eventually chosen in the final 14 for the Test series against Pakistan 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.^[24] 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.^[25] He was selected for the Test series against the West Indies in late 2000. During the first Test he scored his first half-century in test cricket and in the next Test, took seven wickets including a five wicket haul in the second innings.^[26] However, he suffered a stress fracture of the lower back which kept him out of the next three 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.^{[citation needed]}

Return from injury[link]

Lee returned to the international team for the 2001 Ashes series 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 Zealand 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,^[27] 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.^[28] 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.^[29]

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.^[30]

Loss of Test position[link]

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 Tendulkar 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.^[31]

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,^[32] 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.^[33]

Test return[link]

Brett Lee bowling against South Africa at the WACA in 2005

After 18 months on the sidelines, Lee returned to the Test team in the 2005 Ashes series. With 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^{[citation needed]}, but was retained, in part because of his defiant batting^{[citation needed]} which yielded runs at an average of 26.33. During the Ashes, he claimed his 150th test wicket off Andrew Strauss with a straight yorker on Day 1 of the third test.

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',^[34] 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.^[35] 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.^[36]

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.^[37] 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.^[38] 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.^[39]

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.^[36] 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 20 wickets, with his best bowling figures being 4 for 47 at an average of 33.20, including 6 in the final test. His tally was only bettered by his teammates Stuart Clark, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath as the quartet claimed more wickets than the entire England bowling attack combined.^[40]

Post McGrath-Warne era[link]

Following the retirements of Warne and McGrath, 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^{[citation needed]} 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 and he was forced to return home for surgery.

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.

Retirement[link]

Lee had been considering retiring from Test cricket for some time since 2008 due to the physical strain. In February 2010, he announced his retirement from Test cricket after consulting friend and England rival Andrew Flintoff, stating that bowling "at 150km/h for five days is very hard on the body".^[9][41] He had been out with a string of injuries and had not played a Test since December 2008. He ended his Test career with 310 wickets in 76 tests, the fourth highest total behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee.

One-day International career[link]

Lee bowling against Pakistan at Lord's, 2004-09-04

Lee made his One Day International debut 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 February 2002 against South Africa, he scored his first ODI half century, 51* not out.

In One-day Internationals, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006^[42] and has been ranked among the top ten ODI bowlers since the start of 2003. 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. Lee finished the series with 15 wickets, the third highest tally behind Nathan Bracken and Muttiah Muralitharan.

His bowler-fielder partnership with long-time international teammate and wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist yielded 58 wickets in 151 matches, the fourth highest of all time in ODI history.^[43]

2003 World Cup[link]

With main bowler Shane Warne banned from the 2003 World Cup the day before the opening match, Lee moved up the pecking order and, together with Andy Bichel and Glenn McGrath, formed one of the tournament's most lethal attacks, claiming 59 wickets between them. Lee concluded the tournament with 22 wickets off 83.1 overs at an average of 17.90, a wicket behind Sri Lankan left-arm fastbowler Chaminda Vaas. 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. He also reached the 160 km/h mark twice; his delivery to Marvan Atapattu in the semi-final of the reached 160.1 km/h (99.5 mph)^[44] and hit 160.6 km/h in his first over against England in the group stage.^[45]

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 which Australia won. He took one five-wicket haul, 5 for 42, against Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand during their super-six encounter at Port Elizabeth to put Australia ahead after a dismal innings.^[46] 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.^[47]

Comeback[link]

After having to return home due to injury during the 2007 World Cup, Lee was part of the successful 2009 ICC Champions Trophy squad and was level on 6 wickets with teammates Peter Siddle and Shane Watson, the highest total for the Australian team. Injuries sustained in test matches forced him out until 2011, having not played for Australia for almost two years. He played the two T20s at the MCG 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.^{[citation needed]}.

Despite competition from younger bowlers and another injury setback, Lee managed to make the squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. He finished the tournament with 13 wickets, the highest of all the bowlers in the team. Of the 13 wickets, 4 came in the match against Pakistan but it was not enough as Australia lost the match and eventually crashed out at the semifinals to rivals India.

Against the West Indies in March 2012 he hit his highest score, 59 before getting caught off a ball by Kemar Roach.

Twenty20[link]

Lee made his Twenty20 and T20 International debut on 15 February 2005 against New Zealand in the first ever T20 international match.^[48] He was called up to the squad for the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. During the tournament, he made history by claiming the first hat trick in T20 internationals in the Group F match against Bangladesh and also won the Man of the Match award.^[49]

Awards[link]

• 2000 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year
• 1999-2000 Wisden Young Cricketer of the Year
• 2002-03 VB Series Player of the Series
• 2004-05 VB Series Player of the Series
• 2005 ICC Awards - ODI Team of the Year
• 2006 Wisden Cricketer of the Year^[50]
• 2006-07 DLF Cup Player of the Tournament
• 2006 ICC Awards - ODI Team of the Year
• Australia's Greatest ODI XI^[51]
• 2007 Warne-Muralitharan Trophy Player of the Series
• 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy Player of the Series
• 2008 McGilvray Medal^[52][53]
• 2008 Australian Test Player of the Year^[54]
• 2008 Allan Border Medal^[54][55]
• 2008 ICC Awards - ODI Team of the Year
• 2008 ICC Awards - Test Team of the Year
• 2009 Champions League Twenty20 Player of the Series

Career highlights[link]

Tests[link]

• Lee's best Test bowling figures of five for 30 came against the West Indies at The Gabba, Brisbane in 2005
• Lee's 100th wicket was Marcus Trescothick in his 27th Test against England at Sydney in 2003
• Lee took his 200th wicket, Mark Boucher, in his 51st Test against South Africa at Durban in 2006
• His best Test batting score of 64 was made against South Africa, Johannesburg, 2006
• He made his 1,000th Test run in his 53rd Test against Bangladesh at Fatullah in 2006
• Lee's 250th wicket was Anil Kumble in his 62nd Test against India at Melbourne in 2007
• Lee's 300th wicket was Jamie How in his 73rd Test against New Zealand at Brisbane on 22 November 2008

One-day Internationals[link]

ODI Debut: vs Pakistan, Gabba, Brisbane, 1999–00

• His best ODI bowling figures of five for 22 came against South Africa, Melbourne
• Lee's best ODI batting score of 59 was made against WEST INDIES CRICKET TEAM, WEST INDIES; 2012, Gabba, 2005–06
• Lee's 100th ODI wicket was Andrew Caddick, against England at the M.C.G. in 2003
• Lee's 200th wicket was Marcus Trescothick, against England at Lord's in 2005
• Lee's 300th wicket was Darren Sammy, against West Indies at St George's in 2008
• Lee's 350th wicket was Nuwan Kulasekara, against Sri Lanka at Kandy 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 ^[56]

Other[link]

• Lee was the first player in Twenty20 International cricket to take a hat-trick.^[57]
• Soon after Lee was selected for Australia, a racing greyhound 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 ^[58]

Personal life[link]

Lee is the second of three sons born to Bob, a metallurgist, and Helen (née Buxton), a piano teacher.^[14] His older brother Shane is a retired all rounder and former international and younger brother Grant previously played cricket for New South Wales U-19, and is now an accountant.^{[citation needed]} Lee attended Balarang Public School and Oak Flats High School, which later named its cricket ground in his honour.

The brothers first played cricket together in front of their house using a tennis ball and the garage door as the "wicket-keeper".^[59] As a child he idolised Allan Donald and Dennis Lillee, the latter of whom would become a mentor to him as a teenager.^[14]

Lee has been known by his nickname 'Bing', after the chain of electronics store Bing Lee, since his high school days.^[14] He was once briefly nicknamed 'Oswald' by former Australian captain and New South Wales teammate Steve Waugh during his early international career. During an ODI around 2000, he was in the batting order behind his brother Shane and Ian Harvey. When Waugh read out the batting order, instead of reading "Lee, Harvey, Lee", he read out "Lee, Harvey, Oswald" (Lee Harvey Oswald).^[60]

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.^[61] 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.^[62]

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.^[63]

During the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy in India, Lee wrote the lyrics for You're the One For Me and recorded it with Indian singer Asha Bhosle. The song reached a peak position of number two on the Indian and South African charts.^[64] In 2008, he filmed scenes for his first Bollywood movie Victory.^[65][66]

In November 2011, Lee launched his autobiography, which he wrote with the help of author James Knight.^[67][68]

Endorsements[link]

Lee's sponsorship deals include the breakfast cereal Weet-Bix (which at one time were marketed as "Brett-Bix"),^[69] Gatorade and Volkswagen, of which Lee has two vehicles.^[70]

On the field sponsorship includes uvex Safety Eyewear.^{[citation needed]} 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,^[71] he has a number of major sponsorship deals there, including for Timex watches, New Balance shoes, Boost energy drink and TVS Motor Company.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001 Lee launched his own fashion label 'BL'.

Charity work[link]

Lee supports a number of charities including the Salvation Army, 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.^[72]

Mewsic Foundation[link]

In 2007, Lee initiated Mewsic, a charitable foundation in India. Mewsic aims to facilitate the involvement of disadvantaged young people in music. Mewsic aims to ensure that music is widely recognised as a powerful tool to heal, empower, educate, and advocate for marginalized children in India. Mewsic has established six centres of music across India.^[73]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile: Brett Lee from ESPNcricinfo
• / Personal Website

v t e Australia squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup (3rd title) 4 Gillespie 11 McGrath 12 Bevan 14 Ponting (c) 18 Gilchrist 25 Lehmann 28 Hayden 29 Harvey 30 Martyn 31 Hogg 34 Bichel 39 Symonds 43 Hauritz 46 Maher 58 Lee 59 Bracken Coach: Buchanan Jason Gillespie, Shane Warne and Shane Watson were named in the original squad but withdrew from the tournament