CANBERRA, Australia, CMC – Batting icon Brian Lara has advised Aussie pacer Brett Lee to adopt the same approach that helped West Indies fast bowler Malcolm Marshall in his latter years.
Lara, who had several battles with Lee during his career, suggested the 32-year-old cut back on his pace and work on moving the ball around.
“Brett Lee has done an enormous service for Australian cricket. He’s worked really hard. But a guy that bowls that fast is not going to maintain his pace over a longer period of time,” said Lara who is in Australia on a business trip.
“Maybe if you compare him to a bowler like Marshall who was out-and-out fast but eventually, in the later part of his career, learned how to move the ball around and he was a very smart bowler.”
Lee has played international cricket for 10 years, taking 310 wickets in 76 Tests since making his debut in 1999.
The rhythmic fast bowler has largely depended on his searing pace but Lara said at this stage of his career, concentrating on swinging the ball could work to his advantage.
“I think Malcolm Marshall gained a lot more respect for that part of his career than the first,” said Lara, the record holder for the highest Test and first class scores.
“Brett Lee is still in the mix in terms of raw pace and maybe a bit of away movement with the new ball. But he may need to cut back [on pace] and do a lot more with the ball and think a lot more with his bowling.”
Marshall, who died in 1999, is considered one of the finest fast bowlers ever and perhaps one of the best exponents of swing bowling, snatching 376 wickets in 81 Tests.
