Lee adding guile to pace in India Tests

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Australian spearhead Brett Lee is adding variety to his pace to excel in India after a subdued start in the drawn first Test. Lee, 31, took one wicket in each innings as India frustrated the number one side by salvaging a draw, batting through most of the final day on an uneven pitch in Bangalore. More... Lee adding guile to pace in India Tests October 15, 2008 17:57 IST Australian spearhead Brett Lee [images] is adding variety to his pace to excel in India after a subdued start in the drawn first Test. Lee, 31, took one wicket in each innings as India frustrated the number one side by salvaging a draw, batting through most of the final day on an uneven pitch in Bangalore. One of the fastest bowlers in the world, Lee worked on change of pace and movement in the nets on Wednesday. The second Test in the four-match series starts on Friday. "Not to win the first Test is disappointing," he told a news conference. "We possibly could have got a lot more wickets on the last day and won the Test but it wasn't to be." He said India's new ball bowlers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan [images], who shared 13 wickets, showed excellent control. "They definitely used the ball swinging back in nicely when it got older," he said. "Just probably we didn't capitalise as much as we would have liked to in the second innings. "Today was a matter of working on a few different balls... [and] different sort of variations." LEARNING FAST Lee said he learnt a lot in his first Test in India, having missed the 2001 series loss due to elbow injury and not getting to play in 2004 when Australia [images] won their first series in the country for 35 years. "I was really happy with the way I bowled in the first Test," he said. "You can look up at the scoreboard and see not a lot of wickets next to my name or Stuey [stuart] Clark's or any other bowler. An elbow strain prevented Clark from bowling on Wednesday. Lee missed the home one-day series against Bangladesh for personal reasons and his bowling in the drawn four-day warmup prompted skipper Ricky Ponting [images] to say he was a bit "underdone" entering the series. The bowler with 291 Test scalps has assumed the lead role after Glenn McGrath retired last year and heads a young pace attack in India. Lee looked forward to playing on a pitch which was home to his Indian Premier League [images] (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab [images] earlier this year. "It feels like a home game," he said. "Hopefully the wicket has got a bit of carry, this is traditionally a bouncy wicket here in India. The one in Bangalore was a bit low and slow."

[THX_1138]

so i guess 2 wickets then this coming test instead of the 1?

[DomainK]

Adding variety? One does not add variety in three says time. BS.

[Fontaine]

And so the Lee love affair with the Indian media continues. Zaheer/Ishant both outperformed this guy and all Lee has to do is speak a few words of Hindi, flash a bollywood smile and the Indian media fall in love with the guy. What a bunch of crap.

[THX_1138]

And so the Lee love affair with the Indian media continues. Zaheer/Ishant both outperformed this guy and all Lee has to do is speak a few words of Hindi, flash a bollywood smile and the Indian media fall in love with the guy. What a bunch of crap.

he is a handsome lad, has a beaming smile, speaks english with a foreign accent and well he is white. if his diarrhea smelt funny, it would make the headlines. having said that... he is my absolute favorite contemporary cricketer since he is easily the fittest cricketer to ever play the game outside of courtney walsh and kapil dev.

[Fontaine]

he is a handsome lad, has a beaming smile, speaks english with a foreign accent and well he is white. if his diarrhea smelt funny, it would make the headlines. having said that... he is my absolute favorite contemporary cricketer since he is easily the fittest cricketer to ever play the game outside of courtney walsh and kapil dev.

He's punk looking to fill his wallet and has found willing suckers in India.

[DomainK]

I like the lad. The only one I like from that team. I donr t care whether he is working for Bollywood or not. What I care for is what he is doing on the field. He does not abuse, does not believe in so called mind games, is very aggressive with his bowling, is very fit and has the right sports man spirit. Period. And he is like that not only against India, but against every opposition.

[Ram]

I wonder what will be the reaction within the Aussie dressing room, with regards to all the mushy comments that Lee makes about India. Its obvious that there is no love lost between the two teams. And adding to that, there’s been a bitter war of words orchestrated through the press. Zaheer Khan just made some of the most uncharitable comments anyone’s made about an Aussie team in the last many years, calling them ‘defensive’ and labeling their bowling attack ‘ineffective and incapable of taking 20 wickets’ And less than 3 days later, Lee goes to press and talks all smug about Indians and India, obviously, to suit his commercial interests. If I were the Aussie captain, I wouldn’t be impressed. Its like Lee is putting his own personal interests above Team overall interests.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

am not sure whether bret is a nice guy when it comes to having a verbal go at the batsmen... 5 out of 6 times in an over, he finishes his follow through at the other end of the pitch, gives a stare at the batsman, mouthes a few words, making the indian crowd booo... and once the over is done with, quietly slips into 3rd man or fine leg positions, does a namaste at the crowd and immediately the foolosh spectators start cheering him, forgetting tat he was bad mouthing our players moments ago...

[retterimp]

lee is a crap test bowler. most of the times he looks very harmless. he definitely cannot be classified as a 'great' yet. i would say he's probably the 'kumble' of fast bowlers...works very hard but doesn't have the innate skill or the 'edge' as we say, in fast bowling. maybe he'll find his edge one day...but it might be too late.

[PakFan]

Lee is yet to take a 10 fer in a test match:giggle:

[punjabi_khota]

lee is a crap test bowler. most of the times he looks very harmless. he definitely cannot be classified as a 'great' yet. i would say he's probably the 'kumble' of fast bowlers...works very hard but doesn't have the innate skill or the 'edge' as we say' date=' in fast bowling. maybe he'll find his edge one day...but it might be too late.[/quote'] So Kumble isn't great ?

[Sachinism]

Lee looked forward to playing on a pitch which was home to his Indian Premier League (IPL) team Kings XI Punjab earlier this year.

:hysterical::hysterical:

[Mr. Wicket]

If I were the Aussie captain' date=' I wouldn’t be impressed. Its like Lee is putting his own personal interests above Team overall interests.[/quote'] Which is BS. Lee's personal interests are completely separate from the team's. It's not in the team's interest to be particularly rude or polite to India and the opponents. Gentlemen cricketers in the past have always gotten on well with their opponents and been gracious visitors in touring countries. Read stories about people like Sir Garry Sobers and Shiv Chanderpaul in India. The overall team's interest is in winning. Lee's busted his back bowling. He's run in hard, shown a lot of heart and tried his best, fought well with the bat and the reason he hasn't taken more wickets is simply that he is not that outstanding a bowler. He lacks the abilities that Kasprowicz, Gillespie and McGrath had with an old ball, he lacks the sheer accuracy of Pidge or the sharp seam movement that Gillespie or McGrath could get. He's simply not in that class on such tracks. He's not done anything to harm team interests, he's just got other interests on the side (rather than the old brand of tourist who would stay in their hotel room back in the 80s and early 90s). Nothing wrong with it. If Ponting's unimpressed and upset, it says more about him than Lee.

[Ram]

Which is BS. Lee's personal interests are completely separate from the team's. It's not in the team's interest to be particularly rude or polite to India and the opponents. Gentlemen cricketers in the past have always gotten on well with their opponents and been gracious visitors in touring countries. Read stories about people like Sir Garry Sobers and Shiv Chanderpaul in India. The overall team's interest is in winning. Lee's busted his back bowling. He's run in hard, shown a lot of heart and tried his best, fought well with the bat and the reason he hasn't taken more wickets is simply that he is not that outstanding a bowler. He lacks the abilities that Kasprowicz, Gillespie and McGrath had with an old ball, he lacks the sheer accuracy of Pidge or the sharp seam movement that Gillespie or McGrath could get. He's simply not in that class on such tracks. He's not done anything to harm team interests, he's just got other interests on the side (rather than the old brand of tourist who would stay in their hotel room back in the 80s and early 90s). Nothing wrong with it. If Ponting's unimpressed and upset, it says more about him than Lee.

And why is that its only Lee, among all the touring Aussie party, that has good things to say about India and Indians, during this tour so far? I am not saying Lee shouldnt be friendly. All I am saying is, in a series characterized by heated exchanges on and off the field, Lee's mellow talk does seem a bit out of place. And btw, I dont see any Indian player making any charitable comments about Aussie players either.

[Mr. Wicket]

Well, even when India toured Australia earlier in the year, Lee was one of the few men on both sides whose behaviour was impeccable. There was one very classy exchange between him and SRT when he accidentally bowled a high full toss in an ODI to Tendulkar. Both men (and a few others) had the grace to keep themselves above the other exchanges and pettiness that were exchanged. Glad to see both are so far still doing that.

[Ram]

Well, even when India toured Australia earlier in the year, Lee was one of the few men on both sides whose behaviour was impeccable. There was one very classy exchange between him and SRT when he accidentally bowled a high full toss in an ODI to Tendulkar. Both men (and a few others) had the grace to keep themselves above the other exchanges and pettiness that were exchanged. Glad to see both are so far still doing that.

There's a difference between having good relations with the opposition players and going to the media and making one friendly statement after another, especially in a high voltage series like this. I think you see the difference.

[flamy]

There's a difference between having good relations with the opposition players and going to the media and making one friendly statement after another, especially in a high voltage series like this. I think you see the difference.

arre yaar, he haz been PWNED!