Five unforgettable moments in Brett Lee's career

Brett Lee was one of Australia's finest fast bowlers, establishing himself as a mainstay of their golden era between 1999 and 2008.

His 76 career Test matches called forth a mammoth total of 310 wickets, which is the sixth-highest of all time for Australia. He also played 221 ODIs and 25 T20Is.

He weaponised his pace throughout his career, taking 10 Test 'five-fors' and averaging 20.15 and 17.81 in Tests and ODIs respectively.

Five-for on Test Debut

Brett Lee made his debut in the 1999 Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and immediately put his name up in lights by taking an outstanding five-wicket haul.

His figures of 5/47 from just 17 overs in the first innings limited India to a meager total of 238. He ripped through India's batting lineup, including the big scalps of Rahul Dravid and Saddagopan Ramesh. His Test career began on a bright note when he took a wicket off the fourth ball of his first over.

In his very first Test, he lived up to the occasion and showed glimpses of what he would achieve over his illustrious career. It was the first time an Australian fast bowler took a five-for on debut since Dennis Lillee did the same in 1971.

Fastest ball ever?

It is undisputed that Lee was well-known for his pace as he regularly clocked 145km/h plus, which did also cause him to endure several recurring injuries.

In 2000, he recorded 161.8km/h on the radar guns, although this has since been proven to be an erroneous measurement of a 142km/h delivery. His fastest career ball was legitimately clocked at 161.1 km/h, which is second only to the record set by Shoaib Akhtar at 161.3 km/h.

That 161.1 km/h delivery came in 2005 against New Zealand in an ODI match. Lee bowled two consecutive deliveries over 160 km/h in what was dubbed as one of the fastest overs in history.

He bowled a lethal six-over spell in that match, taking three wickets for just five runs alongside four maidens.

2003 World Cup Hat-trick

Australia took an invincible squad to the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where they were the dominant victors. In the group stage, Lee was able to dismiss three Kenyan players with consecutive deliveries to record an incredible World Cup hat-trick.

Even though Kenya are an associate nation, his achievements shouldn't be diminished. Lee dislodged the Kenyan top order to reduce them to 3/3. Kenyan batters Kennedy Otieno, Brijal Patel and David Obuya fell victim to his spell on the day.

He also became the first player to take a hat-trick in a T20I in 2007, where he took 3/27 against Bangladesh.

Lethal 2005 spell at the MCG

Known as a particular spell that typified his career, Lee was able to ruffle one of South Africa's greatest ever players in Jacques Kallis. Kallis is one of the greatest all-rounders to play the game, but he struggled throughout his innings against Lee, and was eventually bowled for 23 runs.

He put on a masterclass throughout a four-over spell, threatening South Africa with a range of short-pitched bowling and express pace.

Biggest six at the Gabba

Lee's expertise was obviously focused around his fast bowling, but he proved to be a quirky pinch-hitter in the lower order as well. He hit one of the biggest sixes ever in a Test match in 2005 against the West Indies - launching a monster shot that sailed out of the Gabba.

There is conjecture over how he was able to achieve such a feat and debate continues over whether it is the biggest six ever hit. It is thought the shot's distance measured around 130-135 metres.

The graphite-reinforced bat that he used in that innings ended up being banned by the ICC a few months later.