When Brett Lee was nursing his injured elbow at a doctor’s clinic for most of 2010, even some of the eternal optimists had given up hope of seeing the Australian fast bowler in action again. In February when he retired from Test cricket, some wondered if his ODI career was also done. But as Brett says, ‘I’ve always been a bit of a fighter and an optimist. So I wanted to fight my way back up for one final time.’ That’s exactly what he has done.
At the age of 33, which is not exactly young for a genuinely quick bowler like him, Lee fought acute pain, ageing body and doubts that surrounded him to make a grand comeback. What saw him through was his aim: to Australia in the World Cup one last time.
His determination not only ensured him a place in the team, but Lee finished the World Cup as Australia’s most successful bowler with 13 wickets from seven matches at an average of 18.07.
Now, the ever cheerful pacer is bringing smiles on the faces of Kolkata Knight Riders fans. He’s a happy man firing on all cylinders for SRK’s team. ‘My aim was to get back for the World Cup and I achieved that. Now, I’ve also got a chance to play in the IPL. It’s a wonderful tournament with wonderful people. So, it’s fantastic to be back to playing cricket.’
But as is the case with every inspiring comeback story, a lot of blood and sweat have gone in. He admits his battle was as much with his ambition as it was against the injury.
‘It was very tough. The easier option would’ve been to put my feet up. I’ve had a really good career. I never thought even in my wildest dreams that I’d end up getting 300 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. But then I told myself to have a final go.’
Lee was desperate to resurrect his international career. And desperation often leads to compromise. But not in Lee’s case. ‘I also had on my mind that if I cannot bowl at 140-145 kmph consistently, I will not play again,’ he reveals. And to keep that promise he had to work hard on his fitness. ‘When you get injured, you have to change a certain things, but I just tried to focus on my fitness. Thankfully, I got to that fitness level again.’
While the core of Lee’s bowling remains the same, he has now matured as a bowler, partly due to the injury and partly due to his age. In the World Cup, the man leading Australia’s pace attack was not the blond hurling down the leather ball, like he did in the 2000’s. Instead, here was an intelligent operator complementing his pace with cunning variations and deceiving change in pace.
And this IPL has brought him a godsend opportunity to add more to his guile, with Wasim Akram as the bowling coach. The Aussie pacer has been working closely with the legend in the KKR camp.
‘When you’re making a comeback at 34 years of age, you’ve got to reinvent yourself and Wasim has been a tremendous help in that,’ says Lee. ‘I normally swing the ball away from the right hander and I’ve always wanted to bring it back or get it to straighten. That’s something I’ve been working on with Wasim and it’s starting to come off. I’m also working really hard on the reverse swing.’
At 34, he is still enjoys every moment on the cricket field. He still has some unfinished business. While he runs the final lap, Lee wants to guide the young Australian fast bowlers along the way and do his bit in reviving his country’s flagging cricketing fortunes. ‘I want to do a lot more in the one-day format and pass on a bit to the young guys. I’m doing that here in the IPL and want to do the same with the Australian team
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