Brett Lee interview: ‘I want fast-bowlers to go beyond 160 kmph’

The former Australian cricketer discusses pace bowling, the importance of athletes having multiple interests, and India’s chances in the ongoing World T20

More than the number of wickets Brett Lee got — and he did get quite a few (718 in international cricket alone), it is how he bowled that impressed one more. He was... fast. Not 135 kmph fast; not 140 kmph fast; he was 150 kmph fast, often. Occasionally, 155 kmph. A few times even breaching 160 kmph. Batters get less than half a second to react to that kind of speed. In other words, they hardly saw it coming.

Brett breathed fire. Sometimes, after shattering the stumps, he would pummel his fists down thrice in celebratory fury. He called it The Chainsaw. It was like a frenzied guitar riff at a hard rock concert. Brett could, however, also play the screeching guitar riff at a rock concert — his rock band Six & Out has made it to the top-100 of the Australian music chart.

The fury on the field belies his soft-natured persona off it. He is polite, mostly smiling. This probably has to do with his longtime job as a salesman. Now, though, we mostly see him in the commentary panel.