Mutual respect, his motto

Published : Oct 11, 2008 00:00 IST

K. RAMESH BABU
K. RAMESH BABU
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K. RAMESH BABU

Brett Lee, the Aussie pace spearhead, voices his concern at the slowing down of wickets the world over, in this interview with V. V. Subrahmanyam.

At 31, no fast bowler would hazard a guess on his success rate in Indian conditions. But Brett Lee, who made his debut in 1999 and is now the Aussie pace spearhead, has big plans to make a lasting impression in the Test series against India.

For someone who is so familiar with the Indian psyche — being a regular visitor for various endorsement campaigns — Lee is aware of the huge responsibility.

“Well, every Australian cricketer knows that he will be facing one of the most difficult challenges of his career when he plays in India. But we are ready for the test. One has to be able to play the game in all conditions,” he explains.

Lee is disappointed at the changing trends in the preparation of wickets. “They have become slower and slower over the years and it is unfortunate that pitches are becoming unfriendly to the fast bowlers across the world. Even the wicket in Western Australia, said to be the bounciest of tracks in the world, is not the same now. So, to be successful in India, you have to rely not just on speed but on line and length. You have to perfect the waiting game. Patience should be the key factor in our approach,” he asserts.

The Aussies are known to be really aggressive on the field and are often involved in some of the worst ‘sledging’ duels. The biggest of them all was the Andrew Symonds-Harbhajan Singh controversy on India’s last tour of Australia.

But Lee was one of the few Aussies who stood apart from the rest with his relaxed demeanour. How does he manage to be so despite the inherent aggro, being such a great fast bowler?

“I love the challenges, but in the right spirit. So, I am always conscious not to mix emotions with my job. I groomed my career on mutual respect on the cricket field. It is not that I am soft on the field, but I try to keep control over myself,” he says.

Lee will also be chasing his 300th Test victim in the series to become the fourth bowler in the all-time list of highest wicket-takers from Australia. How does he feel? “It should be a great feeling if it happens. What is really most pleasing is the fact that I have been consistent in the post-McGrath era. It is not always easy to lead the Australian bowling attack especially when there is a huge void after the retirement of McGrath,” he says.

Lee has been really consistent in recent times and owes it to his present captain Ricky Ponting and to ex-skipper Steve Waugh for giving him all support. “They are really brilliant captains and great motivators,” he points out.

The Australian pace bowler doesn’t want to name any one Indian batsman as the major threat. “You have Sachin, who is like a God. Despite being hit by injuries recently, it’s never easy to write him off. Then you have Sehwag and Dravid and there is VVS (Laxman), who are all great players. So, we have a holistic approach to the task. We will not focus on individuals in this series,” Lee concludes.

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