Tuesday 31 May 2011

The two Brett Lees

Spotted this on OBO the other day. Brett Lee in 1997. A totally different action. Bet his brother loved him.


In case you've forgotten, this is what he looked like a couple of years later, bowling some really nasty stuff at the tail.


Really interesting. I know Ian Bishop changed a bit after back surgery but I can't think of a bowler who changed their action more than this.

4 comments:

  1. CC,

    Why do you argue this is a totally different action?

    - very front on in both
    - yes, Lee is bowling much quicker vs SA, but this is probably a combination of the pitch and the fact he's bowling at the tail
    - granted his body drops away a little more in the earlier footage, but this is probably the work of a decent bowling coach

    I'm not a bowler...

    J

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  2. Look at the bowling arm. It goes behind his head in the delivery stride in the first vid. The front arm is thrust out far higher in the second too, which makes the delivery stride more dynamic. I'd wager he's about 10mph quicker in the second one.

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  3. The action is different, but not THAT different. It's more refined and simplified in the second clip, with all the energy directed to propelling the ball instead of waving his bowling arm round unnecessarily but fundamentally it's the same action.

    I suspect the difference in pace has more to do with strength and conditioning than any changes to the action. In the first clip you're looking at a raw 21-year-old on the fringes of the Australian side; in the second, which is what, the early 2006 series in SA, you're looking at a much more developed bowler.

    The thing to bear in mind with Lee is that as fast bowlers go, he really wasn't very tall -- 5'10 - 5'11" -- and he generated the vast majority of his pace from back, shoulder and core strength.

    Met his brother when I was over covering the 2006-7 whitewash. He does PR for Weetabix these days (or he did then). In fact I met Brett himself in a bar in Perth after they'd won to retain the Ashes. Nice fella, and he got up on stage to play bass for the band when they did that Men at Work song. He was pretty handy, considering how pissed he was.

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  4. I've heard that-mark butcher's also a good guitarist. Yes, bowling at that pace at his height takes supreme athleticism-in fact it's a mix of speed and strength I doubt you see outside of rugby/other countries' versions of 'football'. Without long levers like most of England's current line up it's tough work indeed. I know I go on about him but Mr Tremlett really wasn't that fast until he suddenly turned into a giant-good, certainly, but not rapid. I understand Lee swam 40 lengths a day during one fitness regime. Similarly Marshall and his 150 sit ups a day. There have been v few though - Marshall, Lee, Larwood, Younis, Gough, Steyn...can't think of many others.

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