Twenty20 helped Lee give up Test cricket

Brett Lee, fresh from having given up Test cricket to prolong his career, has credited Twenty20 leagues with giving players breathing space, reports Ashutosh Sharma.

Brett Lee, fresh from having given up Test cricket to prolong his career, has credited Twenty20 leagues with giving players breathing space. “Yes, it has created an option for us cricketers but in my case I had to consider other factors also, before I made the decision,” Lee said during the Kings XI Punjab’s ongoing camp.

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The pacer said it was not easy to follow in the footsteps of Andrew Flintoff, Shane Bond and Jacob Oram and that he would have loved to play in all formats had his body allowed it.

“I did not have it in my heart to play five straight days. I still wanted to play for the country and for that to happen something had to give and unfortunately it was Test cricket,” Lee said.

Having said that, the Australian pacer said he has no regrets over his decision and has loved the every moment of playing for his country. “I played with greats like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and the Waugh brothers in an era where we dominated the game. I am happy that I played for close to 11 years as a fast bowler and picked up 310 wickets,” said Lee, the second most capped fast bowler for Australia.

“I have made a remarkable progress since my operation and have sent down few balls since my arrival here but I am not sure whether I will be able to play the first match or not,” Lee said, when asked if there was a timeframe on when he would be back in action.