Despite missing out on 14 months of Test cricket, Brett Lee is not unduly bothered about his chances of getting back into the Australian squad. He is just hopeful of figuring in the Ashes series later this year and says his best years are yet to come.
"I am only 28 now. Fast bowlers generally peak by 30, so I still have some years before I think I am missing on my best years as a cricketer," said the New South Wales bowler, who was in Mumbai on Monday for a promotional event.
"Just being in this Australia team is a motivation enough. Playing with guys you have watched up growing is a great experience. I didn't play a single match when Australia toured India last year, but in the end it was such a special occasion for the entire team that not playing doesn't matter that much," he said, talking about keeping his chin up despite being sidelined in Tests.
Lee, who is the highest-wicket taker for Australia in the last three one-day series, feels he has recovered well from injuries and fulfilled all the criteria the national selectors had asked of him.
"I haven't had an injury for the last two seasons. Before that, I had three ankle surgeries in seven years. So I am feeling really fit, probably the fittest I have been. The selectors asked me to get my ankle right, take wickets consistently and bowl the fastest I could. I have done all that in the opportunities I have got in the past two years."
Making an explosive Test debut against India in 1999, in Melbourne, Lee's career is chequered: he was accused of chucking, had recently invited frowns for bowling a beamer at Hamish Marshall in the ODI series against New Zealand and was consistently advised to seek accuracy ahead of pace.
Though the 28-year-old seconds that last proposition, he says he never once contemplated slowing down.
"There are two things my mother wanted me to do -- play for Australia and bowl the fastest ball," said Lee.
He did just that by sending down the fastest ball recorded in history -- at 157.4 kmh against South Africa in the second Test in Cape Town in 2002. The previous best was by his keenest rival, Shoaib Akhtar, at 157.2 kmh. The records have been toppled since.
Jeff Thompson's benchmark delivery at 100 mph was not officially recorded, and Lee, went past the mark sending down the ball at 160.8 kmh to opener Craig Cumming against New Zealand in the recently concluded ODI series.
But the crown remains with Akhtar with the fastest delivery was 161kmh, against Kiwi batsman Craig McMillan in Lahore in 2002
Only last week, New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns commented that even his "mum" could captain the Australian side because of the exceptional talent the team possessed.
Lee replied with a burst of laughter, adding, "Then, maybe, Chris Cairns' mother is a really good cricketer."
"No jokes apart, I don't really think that's true. I mean, even if it is true that great teams make good captains, on the flip side it is equally important that great teams need good captains. We know we are a talented bunch but Ricky Ponting is our leader and we totally respect his position and his decisions," Lee said.
The conversation veered to the Ashes, Australia's prospects, the big threats and mind-games England have started to play already. First it was the graphite strip in Ponting's bat and then the sledging allegations levelled on Shane Warne during the county game against Sussex.
"I don't know what exactly happened there (between Warne and Sussex captain Chris Adams). What I do know that Warne is a very good guy and in Australia we don't sledge; we only involve in a bit of a gamesmanship.
"We have a healthy chat with, say, the batsman. But all of us know there is a limit and as long as we stay behind the line it's fine."
Of the challenges on the field, Lee said Australia will face a very tough challenge from England come July.
"People like Andrew Strauss and Andrew Flintoff haven't played in an Ashes series but they are sure to come hard at us. Even if they haven't featured in the Ashes, look at the runs Strauss has against his name and Flintoff is challenging Jacques Kallis to be the best all-rounder around.
"And whether who plays and who doesn't for England, I believe Australia have a fight on their hands."
PHOTOGRAPH: Harish Kotian
