Former Australia pacer Brett Lee was so fixated with bowling fast that, as a nine-year-old, he set a goal to reach 160 kmph. He didn’t care about anything else, not even hitting the stumps of the finest batters or reaching personal goals, as long as he was reaching that incredible speed.
The 49-year-old Lee, who has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, stated that he has committed his life to realizing that objective and attributed the required DNA to his sprinting mother, Helen.
“That (160kmph) means more to me than any wicket I’ve taken. Of course, the team comes first — to win the (2003) World Cup, the 16 straight Test wins, that’s the pinnacle; that’s why you play the game,” cricket.com.au quoted Lee as saying.
“But in terms of personal milestones, it wasn’t wickets for me. Because I’d set my goal at such a young age to hit that 160(kph) barrier and to go past it … when you dream about something, you dedicate your life to achieving that dream, and it comes off, it’s very special.”
Top batters all around the world were wary of facing Lee, who finished his two-decade career with 718 international wickets across formats, making him one of the greatest examples of extraordinary pace throughout generations.
Lee claimed that because of his athleticism and body type, he was born to be a fast bowler.
“For me, run-up was my most important asset. Then it was having a braced front leg. That’s something you’re either born with, or you’re not, (and) that will allow you to get that speed through the crease. For me, that’s something that came naturally – that part of my action took care of itself.
“And then you’ve got the front arm – the snap down of the left arm which created my pace; the quicker my left-arm came down, the quicker my right arm would follow,” he added.
He had previously stated that he had aspired to bowl quickly since he was nine years old. “I got that enthusiasm and that really good vibe out of seeing the stumps either break or be knocked over.”
In his career, Lee has twice reached speeds of more than 160 kmph. The first was during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, where he dismissed Marvan Atapattu of Sri Lanka with a delivery of 160.1 kmph in the semifinal.
“At that stage we were under a bit of pressure (defending 212), and needed the best out of me. And that was to just steam in and bowl as quick as I could on a good length… looking up (at the scoreboard) and seeing I went past 160(kmph) was a pretty special moment,” he recalled.
Then, on March 5, 2005, during the fifth ODI against New Zealand in Napier, he memorably recorded his fastest ball ever at 160.8 kmph.
“It’s quite ironic, I felt my fittest when I bowled my quickest ball (160.8kph) in Napier against the Kiwis, but that was a time when I ended up spending 18 months out of the Test team,” he said.
“That was when I felt like I probably should’ve been in, but if you look at the attack we had… there were a number of guys putting their hand up and taking wickets. Looking back, I felt like I was raring to go, but I couldn’t get the nod.”
Lee acknowledged that it was a difficult time for him, but he persisted.
“That was hard to take, but I had to get on with it – I had to suck it up. And I knew I just had to keep bowling fast, keep taking wickets in one-day cricket, and the opportunity would present itself.”
Lee presented himself as someone who would not back down under pressure and would fight to the very end.
“For me, there are two styles of people. There’s one that, when the pressure’s on, they’ll run and hide. Or there’s the other style where you think as an athlete: ‘This is what I’m built for’.
“And I look to go the second option: ‘This is the moment that you want’. Now, whether or not you win, lose or draw, it doesn’t matter. It’s the moment that you want to be involved in,” he said.
