The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Laxman could be the next Tendulkar: Lee

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 06, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Laxman could be the next Tendulkar: Lee

By Our Sports Reporter

CHENNAI, MAY 5. He isn't quite the sort to exchange pleasantries with you on a cricket pitch; but off it, Brett Lee appears genial. And, while this might sound hard to believe — given our trite notions of fire-breathing fast bowlers — he has a sense of humour.

Towards the end of a press conference held here on Wednesday, the tearaway fast bowler held up an inflated balloon in his hands. "This is probably what the ball looks like to V.V.S. Laxman when we bowl to him," he grinned wryly.

Lee, who was in the city as part of a brand promotion drive, said he first played against the Hyderabadi batsman 10 years ago. "Nothing's really changed, he smashed me all over the park then too," he said, his countenance mirroring his teammates' respect for the stylish strokemaker. "We've been good mates for a long time now. Players like Dravid and Sehwag are very good batsmen, but I think Laxman could well be your next Tendulkar."

The Aussie has a good strike rate in both forms of the game — he's picked up 139 wickets in only 37 Tests, and 151 in 84 ODIs. Along the way he's also picked up a reputation for bowling quick.

When asked what the Indian bowlers could do to make the transition from `fast-medium' to plain `fast' Lee said a lot of factors were involved, and that it wasn't simply a question of changing their diet or exercising more.

"It isn't merely about physical attributes, you also need to consider the biomechanics behind pace. For a right-handed bowler, the speed of the delivery actually depends on how quickly he can bring his left hand down.

"The faster you can do that, the quicker your action will be; and faster the delivery," he explained.

"You have the new bunch of youngsters who are doing well. I'm sure Indian bowlers will benefit a great deal from Dennis Lillee's camps at the MRF Pace Foundation," said the handsome Aussie.

Lee believes that over the next couple of years, Muralitharan and Warne will be locked in a close battle over the record for most Test wickets, depending on tour schedules, they could end up breaking each other's records practically every other day.

"It's amazing what levels bowlers have reached today. Earlier we thought it might take a while before Kapil Dev's record was broken; then we had Courtney Walsh's 519 wickets," he said. "Warne is looking fit, and he had a great series of Sri Lanka. He and Muralitharan should have a good contest going for the next few years, and it's great for people who are watching."

Regarding the on-going `chucking' controversy, Lee cautioned against branding people as `cheats' without proper investigation. "I had some trouble a couple of years ago when my action was questioned, and it affected me a lot," he said. "It is important to correct a flawed action as soon as the fault is noticed, especially if it is early on in a bowler's career."

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