Is that even a word? Im not quite sure, but it certainly is fitting. Without a doubt one of the fastest bowlers the game has ever produced, Lee managed to set the world alight when he first hit the scene. Averaging in excess of 150km an hour his express pace unsettled even the best batsmen who were unfortunate enough to be scheduled to play Australia that summer. The only man to have ever bowled faster  has been Pakistan’s Shoaib Akthar (recorded, many still regard Jeff Thompson as the fastest that ever played). Lee’s first year of test cricket produced some incredible results too. In his first 8 matches he averaged less then 20 with the ball at a strike rate of 32. He looked like the real deal and he was set to conquer the world.

He has fizzled. For all his ability and the fearsome reputation that he may have, Brett Lee could quite possibly be the worst player to  ever take 300 test wickets. He is like the Herschelle Gibbs or Daryll Cullinan of Australian cricket. The perennial underachiever who everyone” just knew” would find some level of consistency tomorrow. Promise.

Lee, who was regarded as Australia’s premier bowler not 12 months ago,  has a test average of 30. THIRTY. The best thing about Brett Lee turning 30 was that he was finally older then his bowling average.  Australia has been the best side in world cricket for the last 20 years and Brett Lee played in an era when Australia dominated the game in both formats. Despite their dominance Lee still averages more then 30 with the ball in test cricket. Not the respectable 28 Heath Streak averaged for hopeless Zimbabwe. Not the respectable 30 Javagal Srinath averaged for India on their dustbowls. A bowler averaging more then 30 with the ball is like a batsmen averaging less then 40 with the bat. Its a benchmark which separates the quality players from average players.  How did someone who inherited the mantle of leading strike bowler for the best side in the world ever manage to con his way into such a fearsome reputation in the first place? Its not one that ever  been based on performance.

Shane Warne strangling sides on the other end did little to improve his potency. The advantage he had with Glenn McGrath bowling at the other end never produced anything but mediocrity.  Playing more then half his cricket on wickets that suited his game did little for his record either. Playing for a side that rarely felt the pressure they exerted on other sides could not help him break that benchmark 30 mark. Brett Lee has been as potent an attacking force as a blind man with a walking stick.

Lee never had to bowl against Australia either. When Mathew Hayden was not making sweet love to Justin Langer he was prison raping opposition bowling attacks. When Ricky Ponting was not out slamming back the shooters in the nightclubs he was murdering opposition bowling attacks. When Steve Waugh was not torturing small animals in his backyard, he was torturing opposition bowling attacks. Lee never had to bowl against them unlike the rest of the world had to. One shudders to think what his record would have looked like if he was expected to.

Lee not only had the chance to bowl after the best batsmen in the world had half killed the opposition, he had a chance to bowl with players like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne at the other end. He bowled at sides worse then his own and sides that were under constant pressure. Despite these advantages his record fails to inspire. The only heart anyone can take from his record is that Australia is perhaps so deseprate for bowlers now that the mediocrity of Brett Lee is all they really have to count on. The rest of the world can actually compete against Australia if this is their kingpin.

The Australian media has built his reputation more then his record and performances have. Perhaps its the fact that depth is proving to be a problem or perhaps its just that they take a shine to certain cricketers, his record simply does not justify the recognition he is given. Leading into the Ashes the media frenzy surrounding Lee’s availability would lead one to believe that Curtley Ambrose himself had decided to make a comeback. Just because he is one of Australia’s golden boys and a fan favorite should not exempt him from the scrutiny with which we view other players. Records often speak for themselves. A good career and a solid performer he may be but a cricketing great he will never be.

The sad reality of it though is that occasionally players unworthy of legacy are often remembered while players worthy of legacy are often ignored. For every Brett Lee, there is a Shaun Pollock. For every Mark Waugh there is a Rahul Dravid.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 7:15 am and is filed under Cricket. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.