Touching 160kmph means more to me than any wicket: Brett Lee
Former Australian bowler Brett Lee was so obsessed with bowling fast that he had made it his goal as a nine-year-old to clock 160kmph, and nothing else — not even personal milestones or smashing the stumps of the best batters — mattered to him so long as he was touching that magical speed. Lee, 49, who has been inducted into Australian Cricket’s Hall of Fame, said he dedicated his life to achieving that dream, while crediting his mother, Helen, who was a sprinter, for the necessary genetics.
“That (160kmph) means more to me than any wicket I’ve taken. Of course, the team comes first — to win the (2003) World Cup, the 16 straight Test wins, that’s the pinnacle; that’s why you play the game,” Lee was quoted as saying by cricket.Com.Au. “But in terms of personal milestones, it wasn’t wickets for me. Because I’d set my goal at such a young age to hit that 160(kph) barrier and to go past it … when you dream about something, you dedicate your life to achieving that dream, and it comes off, it’s very special.”
Lee ended his two-decade-long career with 718 international wickets across formats, making him one of the best exponents of extreme speed across generations, as he sent shivers down the spine of top batters across the world. Lee said he was naturally gifted to become a pace bowler with his body structure and athleticism equipping him for the role.
“For me, run-up was my most important asset. Then it was having a braced front leg. That’s something you’re either born with, or you’re not, (and) that will allow you to get that speed through the crease. For me, that’s something that came naturally - that part of my action took care of itself.
“And then you’ve got the front arm - the snap down of the left arm which created my pace; the quicker my left-arm came down, the quicker my right arm would follow,” he added. He had once said that from the age of nine, he wanted to bowl fast. “I got that enthusiasm and that really good vibe out of seeing the stumps either break or be knocked over.”
Lee recorded over 160kmph twice in his career — the first was at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he dismissed Sri Lanka’s Marvan Atapattu with a 160.1kph delivery in the semifinal. “At that stage we were under a bit of pressure (defending 212), and needed the best out of me. And that was to just steam in and bowl as quick as I could on a good length. Looking up (at the scoreboard) and seeing I went past 160(kmph) was a pretty special moment,” he recalled.
He then famously clocked his fastest recorded delivery at 160.8 kmph during the fifth ODI against New Zealand in Napier on March 5, 2005. “It’s quite ironic, I felt my fittest when I bowled my quickest ball (160.8kph) in Napier against the Kiwis, but that was a time when I ended up spending 18 months out of the Test team,” he said. “That was when I felt like I probably should’ve been in, but if you look at the attack we had. There were a number of guys putting their hand up and taking wickets. Looking back, I felt like I was raring to go, but I couldn’t get the nod.” Lee admitted it was a tough phase for him but he did not give up. “That was hard to take, but I had to get on with it — I had to suck it up. And I knew I just had to keep bowling fast, keep taking wickets in one-day cricket, and the opportunity would present itself.”
Lee painted himself as someone who was willing to fight till the end and not chicken out when pressure started building. “For me, there are two styles of people. There’s one that, when the pressure’s on, they’ll run and hide. Or there’s the other style where you think as an athlete: ‘This is what I’m built for’. “And I look to go the second option: ‘This is the moment that you want’. Now, whether or not you win, lose or draw, it doesn’t matter. It’s the moment that you want to be involved in,” he said.
