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Brett Lee's recent good form
- Thread starter Eclipse
- Start date
honestbharani
Whatever it takes!!!
I think it is just him maturing, tbh... And as we go along, I expect him to drop his pace a bit and add a little more variety and accuracy.. And I think he will continue to be the top pacer in the side at least for a good 3 years... All the best to him... Nice bloke, from what I have seen of him and now a gun bowler... and a real honest, trying cricketer, for me...
Matt79
Hall of Fame Member
Think you answered your own question there - he now bowls to plans that don't involve yorker/4-ball/bouncer/4-ball/bouncer/yorker every over. His better line and length and perhaps a slight drop in pace have allowed his other attributes as a bowler, and a bit more swing, to shine, and made him a much better bowler.
vic_orthdox
Global Moderator
He's found a balance. That there is a time and place for the bouncer (especially) and yorker, but what to do before that and after that has a lot more thought put into it.
Pratters
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Lee is bowling the best I have seen him bowl ever. Not only is he bowling fast, he is also bowling with a control which is brilliant to watch. Rarely have I seen any bowler bowl so fast and with so much control. Lee has to be commended highly for the massive hardwork he must have put to reach the level he has.
archie mac
International Coach
In the preview I wrote for last summers' Ashes I suggested this would happen, a year out
Thanks Blee
archie mac
International Coach
It was 31 for a long time so is going in the right direction
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
More or less exactly what I was going to say. I've been a supporter of Lee on this forum ever since he came back into the side, and I think he showed signs of what he is doing now in the ODIs he played before he forced his way back into the test side for the 2005 Ashes.
That return series wasn't a great one for him, aside from occasional successful moments, but since then he's been improving steadily. The one spell that defined him as a quality test bowler for me was the spell he bowled during the Boxing Day test in 05/06 against South Africa. Could easily have had half a dozen wickets instead of 3, and absolutely worked over some quality batsmen, and had Smith for one tied in knots all summer. He was brilliant in the away leg against South Africa, and had a very good series against the West Indies beforehand as well. He had one poor test last summer in Brisbane, but his bowling in the second innings in Adelaide was brilliant and had a major hand in the win, and he was good for the rest of the series after that as well.
His average since returning to the side before this summer was perfectly respectable, around 28 or so, and it was only a matter of time the way he was improving before he had a really watershed summer, and this is it. Essentially he's been bowling very well in patches for a couple of seasons but was prone to an off day or two, which he's fixed.
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Totally agree
Other thing that has changed is that he's finally getting a bit of long overdue "luck" and that, IMO, comes with bowling far more consistent lines and lengths
sideshowtim
Banned
With a bowler like Lee, it shouldn't really be the average you look at. Look at his strike rate. I believe it's just a tick above 50 which is excellent in Test cricket.
Manee
Cricketer Of The Year
It seems that he has moved from the inconsistency of a Saj Mahmood action to a consistent action (like Stuart Broad or Glenn Mcgrath) which he can repeat time and time again. The result is a very good line and length, providing he can keep control over the direction of his wrist.
With pace and good accuracy at his disposal, nothing is stopping him from becoming the great Test bowler that he always promised to be.
With pace and good accuracy at his disposal, nothing is stopping him from becoming the great Test bowler that he always promised to be.
gettingbetter
State Vice-Captain
What an example
.Either way, it is interesting to see Lee bowling as well as he has been, many doubts about how the Aussie attack will perform without Warne and McGrath have been answered, playing overseas will be interesting too. But as for now, he has taken nearly 2 runs of his bowling average since the duo has left.
Manee
Cricketer Of The Year
Although he is not the best bowler, he does have a very repeatable action.What an example
yea he deserves this, as said, great guy and a hard worker.. u really felt for him after Sydney against India.. but now its revenge, im sure he will have flashbacks tomorrow ..and make him hungrier
was watching him from square leg-ish at the ground [side on].. and was just surprised how rhythmical his action was.. especially when he gets to the crease
was watching him from square leg-ish at the ground [side on].. and was just surprised how rhythmical his action was.. especially when he gets to the crease
Craig
World Traveller
It's a general question, not so much with Lee, but you wouldn't be so concerned if a bowler had a good strike rate but mid-range average (like 33 or 34)?
FaaipDeOiad
Hall of Fame Member
Yeah, I thought of that as well, though I like to stay away from the "luck" argument, because such things are by definition random and it's not really possible to be a player who is consistently "lucky" or "unlucky", but I think it's true as someone who's followed Lee very closely that he's had an usually high number of spells in the last couple of seasons where he's bowled incredibly well but beaten the bat 10 times rather than actually getting a wicket. In test cricket anyway. Such things always even themselves out over time and Lee's had more good fortune this summer, which as you say comes from his improved consistency. He also responds a lot better to poor fortune or being attacked than he used to, and sticks to his plans in the knowledge that they will come off eventually.
sideshowtim
Banned
Not if his role was as a strike bowler and there were miserly guys like McGrath or Clark at the other end, no.
BoyBrumby
Englishman
I personally don't think he bowled all that badly in the 05 Ashes when he came back, certainly not anything like deserving of a (IIRC) 40-ish average.
I hate to go down the Richard route of saying one bowler is luckier than another, but McGrath picked up a 5-for at Old Trafford in that series bowling on one leg that seemed to consist mainly of people holing out to long on, when Lee every edge appeared to go for four at times. We also had a fairly attacking line up too, with Tres at the top of the innings & KP, Flintoff & (don't laugh) Jones in the middle order, so it meant he could go for a few quickly when his line was a wee bit off.
I hate to go down the Richard route of saying one bowler is luckier than another, but McGrath picked up a 5-for at Old Trafford in that series bowling on one leg that seemed to consist mainly of people holing out to long on, when Lee every edge appeared to go for four at times. We also had a fairly attacking line up too, with Tres at the top of the innings & KP, Flintoff & (don't laugh) Jones in the middle order, so it meant he could go for a few quickly when his line was a wee bit off.