Cricket: I'm back to my best, says Lee

By RICHARD BOOCK

PERTH - Ever since he started playing backyard cricket with elder brother Shane, there was never much doubt about where Brett Lee's career was headed.

The man who has become the world's fastest bowler could seldom wrench the bat away from his elder sibling, so instead concentrated his frustrations on removing him through blistering speed.

So successful was he at generating this uncommon pace, that it was not long before the blond tearaway was rising through the New South Wales age-group ranks before being picked to make his first-class debut.

He announced himself with a stunning performance at the Waca in Perth two summers ago.

That was the match in which Lee, watched by New South Wales team-mates Steve and Mark Waugh, terrorised Western Australia's top-order in taking match figures of eight for 140. He broke Jo Angel's arm in the process and smashed another batsman's helmet as the Blues scored what was then an upset win.

The paceman, who was about to take the cricket world by storm with a remarkable 42 wickets in his first seven tests, evoked memories of West Indian legend Wes Hall as he wrought his particular brand of destruction.

One delivery was such a vicious bouncer that it cleared the wicketkeeper's desperate leap and sailed away for four byes.

The performance earned an immediate call-up for the second test against India at Melbourne. Lee justified the faith of the selectors by taking five for 47 in the first innings to help to set up an emphatic Australian win.

There have been many outstanding performances since, but the 25-year-old has been forced to cope with his share of setbacks as well,

He was reported for throwing last year and then broke his elbow in an accident which sidelined him for six tests against the West Indies and India.

Brought back for the Ashes tour of England, he struggled to regain his momentum, taking just nine wickets at 55.11 in five tests. He looked a mere shadow of the bowler who made such an impression the previous year.

The bad news for the New Zealand tourists is that the former menswear shop salesman appears to be recapturing some of that barnstorming form. He took five wickets in a "welcome back" spell in the first test at Brisbane and generated excellent pace and bounce in the second test at Hobart.

Arriving in Perth on Tuesday to prepare for the third test, he immediately sought out what might be considered his best friend in Western Australia - the Waca pitch.

"This is my favourite pitch, no doubt about it," said Lee, as he skirted around the perimeter of the wicket block, eyeing the surface with the sort of adulation usually reserved for things of flesh and blood.

"It's a fantastic deck for a fast bowler. There's always a great crowd in to watch, the atmosphere is brilliant and I just love playing my cricket here.

"It's great for a fast bowler to watch the ball carry so far to the keeper. It's really exciting stuff and if you get it in the right place, the wickets will come."

Lee, who bowled a delivery measured at 156 km/h during a one-day international against South Africa in Johannesburg last year, said he learned a valuable lesson in England, even though his nine-wicket return was a big disappointment.

"I just found out that it wasn't too healthy to concentrate on pace and that if I tried too hard, if I forced things in the search for extra pace, then I'd struggle for rhythm and wouldn't be as effective.

""It might seem obvious, but when you're coming back from injury you're naturally keen to make a contribution - and it's easy to overdo things.

"As a result I think I've come back as a much better bowler. I've found that I bowl fastest when I'm just concentrating on line and length and I'm not even thinking about the speed factor.

"After the last two tests, I think I'm pretty much back. The pace is coming very easily. I'm hitting the high 140s and breaking 150 occasionally, and it just seems to come down to match fitness and the confidence you gain from playing day-in, day-out."

The growing self-belief has also shown out in Lee's batting, which badly damaged the New Zealanders at Brisbane and Hobart, despite the lack of opportunities he received when he was playing in the backyard with Shane.

The passion for batting is still something of an obsession with the brothers Lee, as suggested by the name of the Sydney band in which they play - Six and Out.