One of the most ferocious pacers in his heyday, Brett Lee’s speed was consistent between 150-154kph. He loved what he did, i.e. running and bowling fast. The 39-year old ex-Australian cricketer is in India to coach the Kanchi Warriors in the on-going and inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League.
Lee, who has a huge fan-base in the country, spoke about India’s bowling scenario. Praising the decent job done by Indian seamers in the West Indies Test Series, and the US T20, he singled out Bumrah’s bowling.
“I like Jasprit Bumrah. His action is different. I think that doesn’t make him look faster. I’ve worked with him and am impressed the way he bowls. He has good pace, I love his aggression. He can bowl faster if he fixes his front arm. I have seen good swing bowlers like Zaheer Khan or Ishant Sharma. So we need to find the next Indian fast bowler. Hopefully, we’ll get one soon,” Lee said.
He feels Bumrah’s action is much similar to that of Jeff Thomson, and insisted that the 22 year old should not change his ‘unique’ technique.
He further went on to talk about Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling. Rated as one of the best spinner’s in the world, Ashwin was the pick of the bowling department in the West Indies. Lee, who has played against the 29 year old in the IPL, called him a “world-class spinner.”
“He has shown it right from the first time he played. As an off-spinner he gets a lot of bounce and also turns sharply because of his height. He is an attacking bowler, not the traditional off-spinner that we see. He has been very good.”
Not in favour of resting bowlers: Lee
Lee believes that Team India has a terrific pace attack with a variety consisting of Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav. He also emphasized on the importance of gym training for a fast bowler and suggested training with lightweights over heavy weights to get stronger. “Fast bowling is all about the right technique and muscle mass,” he explained.
With increasing workload for the fast bowlers, discussions of having different attacks for different formats have emerged but Lee said he is not particularly in favor of resting period for a bowler. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will both be rested for the upcoming South Africa series, but Lee seemed to be in disagreement with the decision.
“What happens is that a bowler plays three games and then rests for a game, another guy comes in a gets a five for. Then you think about bringing the rested bowler back or continuing with the same bowler. This is how doubt and insecurity creeps in a team.”
Lee’s Kanchi Warriors stand 6th on the TNPL current rankings with a score of 2 points.
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