Brett Lee can no longer be an automatic selection for Australia

[Mister Wright]

Look, I know I give this guy a hard time every now and then, but seriously this guy is a shocking underperformer. He might not be dropped for the next test, but he can no longer be considered a certainty. He is in the team as a new ball bowler to get get top order batsmen out, which he struggles to do. He has no idea how to bowl when the bowling conditions do not suit him and goes for plenty of runs when he is not taking wickets.

His spot should be in question, in particular for the Ashes series as he averages close to 50 with the ball against England and apart from the first innings in Brisbane, hasn't looked threatening at all. Stuart Clark must surely be Australia's 2nd choice fast bowler after McGrath, and Lee should be fighting for his spot with Johnson, Tait and MacGill.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Massive hyperbole here, given that he's had two bad tests and was great last year. Under normal circumstances a year of strong performances earns a player more than half a series grace. It's like suggesting that Martyn should have been dropped midway through the Ashes series last year.

However, I agree that right now, if they want to pick MacGill, Lee has to be the one to go. If they don't pick MacGill, Lee should be retained. Stuart Clark has taken his opportunities in this series and Lee hasn't, and you can't really drop McGrath. With Watson coming in and the likelyhood of four bowlers being selected along with him, Lee is the odd one out if they go for a second spinner.

 

[tooextracool]

Massive hyperbole here, given that he's had two bad tests and was great last year. Under normal circumstances a year of strong performances earns a player more than half a series grace. It's like suggesting that Martyn should have been dropped midway through the Ashes series last year.

Except that Martyn had a good first test and an excellent ODI series against England last year?
Anyways im not recommending that Lee should be dropped, but i cant see him ever being more than an average test match bowler. Other than raw pace he offers very little else, especially in terms of variety.

 

[Arrow]

It seems like Lee wont ever really 'breakthrough' the test arena. He will probably end up being an over 30avg bowler which is classed is mediocre.
Has there ever been a bowler so good in one dayers and bad in tests?

 

[Nate]

Brackennn.

 

[vic_orthdox]

It seems like Lee wont ever really 'breakthrough' the test arena. He will probably end up being an over 30avg bowler which is classed is mediocre.
Has there ever been a bowler so good in one dayers and bad in tests?

Michael Bevan.

EDIT: Just to make dav look silly. For the first time ever on CW.

 

[superkingdave]

he had a better ave in his test career than in ODI's

 

[aussie]

he's had 2 bad test after being superb over the last year so for now i don't think he should be dropped. But if Clark keeps bowling so well & Lee doesn't lift his game soon then we can start questioning his place more seriously.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Lee hasn't been an automatic selection. He was out of the Test side for almost a year until regaining his place for the Ashes last summer.

 

[IndianByHeart]

Lee has always been a lowsy bowler at test level, except when he started when like Sami he had some success, but after that it has proved himself to be a failure.

There is no reason why that dull performer be retained when more talented players like Bracken,Tait,McGill,Johnson are made to sit out.

 

[Dravid]

Lee has been underperforming recently and he needs to be given a break for the rest of the Ashes I believe. Clark is bowling beautifully and is in much better form and should stay in the team a little bit longer while Lee hits the bench. It would be a good idea to bring in either Johnson or McGill in place of him. From what I've seen of Johnson, he's in much better form than Lee.

But you also have to feel for Lee because he did get a bit unlucky in the 1st innings of the second test, but that's no excuse to his recent record.

 

[The Sean]

There's so much to like about Brett Lee as a cricketer - he's a great athlete, bowls genuinely fast (and let's face it - express bowlers always add a bit of excitement) and he plays cricket in the right style, giving 110% every match, playing hard but with a smile on his face and usually in the best of spirits.

All that being said though, I've never thought his performances at Test level really matched the hype. He made an explosive start to his career then tailed off badly, the nadir coming with his wretched series against India in 03/04. He was rightly dropped from the side but to his credit fought his way back in and has given many admirable performances since then. However, I deliberately use the word "admirable" rather than "outstanding" because his Test average seems stuck in the low 30s, and while it seemed for a time that he'd really stepped up to become a genuine Test-class spearhead, as deserving as he is for credit for passing the 200 wicket mark, he is just too expensive too often for me. Performance keeps pursuing the hype and potential, but rarely getting close to overtaking it. I think the fact that he is a marketer's dream - blonde, good looking, very fast and dynamic, means that his good performances often tend to be over-praised and his poor ones under-criticised.

That's all at Test level, however. In ODIs he's an out-and-out star, his wicket taking record in the short form of the game is superb, to the point where I'd now actually pick him in an all-time Australian ODI XI. If only his Test form was so consistently outstanding, we wouldn't even need to have this debate.

 

[Nate]

What a mad new poster.

EDIT: The above statement is a compliment.

 

[The Sean]

What a mad new poster.

I have no idea if that's meant as a compliment, an insult, or an ambivalent observation.

So my self-indulgent, only-child ego will therefore choose to take it as a glowing compliment.

 

[Dravid]

I have no idea if that's meant as a compliment, an insult, or an ambivalent observation.

So my self-indulgent, only-child ego will therefore choose to take it as a glowing compliment.

You are deserving of Mike Hussey award imo.

 

[The Sean]

Thanks mate - nice of you to say. But I'm really not in it for the awards or recog....

Ah screw it - award me up!

 

[PhoenixFire]

You are deserving of Mike Hussey award imo.

Just what I was thinking.

 

[Tomm NCCC]

Interesting point, hasnt looked effective and even if he is getting the ball at 150k's, he's not doing much with it.

 

[PhoenixFire]

The thing is, is that he is bowling as fast as he ever has been, I remember the odd delivery being around the 96mph mark, but he just isn't doing anything with it, ie swinging or seaming it.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Hehe. Think he might have cemented his place today. Was a great spell from Lee, reversed it both ways and could easily have had more than two wickets. Wasn't being attacked of course, but you can't fault his plans or his execution.