Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is expected to announce this week his decision not to attempt a comeback from another serious injury following a discussion with his friend and nemesis Andrew Flintoff.
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is expected to announce this week his decision not to attempt a comeback from another serious injury following a discussion with his friend and nemesis Andrew Flintoff.
Lee had been contemplating retirement for some time but it is now understood that a recent discussion the 33-year-old had with iconic England all-rounder Flintoff, now based in Dubai, finally persuaded him to call it quits.
Lee, who has a huge following in India, is expected to announce on Friday that he will stand down from Test cricket to concentrate on his limited-overs career following an horrific run of injuries over the past 12 months.
Like Flintoff, Lee spent much of 2009 rehabilitating from various ailments. The England all-rounder subsequently made the decision to retire from Test cricket to allow him to pursue a career as a freelancer and, after a recent discussion with Lee, it seems the Australian quick will follow suit.
Lee will exit the five-day format with 310 scalps compiled in 76 Tests since his debut in 1999. He sits behind only Shane Warne (708), Glenn McGrath (563) and Dennis Lillee (355).
At his peak the blond-haired paceman was the most frightening bowler in world cricket. He flirted with the 100-mile barrier at the 2003 World Cup and was recorded delivering a bullet of 160.8km/h in Napier in 2005, a ball that remains the fastest ever bowled by an Australian and second in the world behind only Shoaib Akhtar (161.3km/h).
Lee was awarded the Allan Border Medal as Australia's cricketer of the year two years ago but little has gone right for him since then. His last appearance in the baggy green was in the 2008 Boxing Day Test at the MCG against South Africa.
Lee, a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2006, had offered mixed signals about his Test future this summer. At times he has seemed resolute and determined to mount a return to the Test side but at other points he has spoken less positively about his injury concerns, even telling of his fears that he may never bowl again.
Lee will become the latest high-profile player to withdraw from Test cricket in a bid to prolong his career in the more lucrative limited-overs formats. Flintoff, Shane Bond and Sanath Jayasuriya have all previously declared their intention to continue playing 50- and 20-over cricket.
IPL boss Lalit Modi said in a Twitter post Lee had told him he would play for his franchise, Kings XI Punjab, this season.
(Source: Agency reports)
