Brett Lee calls time on international cricket career – Cricket News Roundup – July 13, 2012 – Part 1
Australia’s veteran pacer Brett Lee has announced his retirement from international cricket today, although he has expressed the intent to continue playing T20 cricket in the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League.
“The great run must end,” said Lee. “It was going to be post-World Cup [Twenty20]. But I woke up this morning and just felt like I was ready. It was time to go.”
A veteran of 76 Tests and 221 ODIs, Lee was forced to pull out of the Aussies’ recent tour of England after sustaining a calf muscle injury, and eventually decided to hang up his boots, instead of waiting until after the World T20 in Sri Lanka this September. He has claimed a record 380 ODI scalps, which bring him up to par with Australia’s highest wicket-taker Glenn McGrath, although the elder bowler brought his tally up to 381 after claiming one scalp for the ICC World XI.
AB de Villiers, who has been called in to fill the wicketkeeping spot for South Africa in their upcoming Test series against England after Mark Boucher’s retirement, has claimed that while he is “undercooked” in regards to Test wicketkeeping, the challenge is one he is eager to take up.
“I'm a little bit undercooked when it comes to Test wicketkeeping but ... It's something I'm looking forward to, if the gloves come my way, in the Test matches,” the 28-year-old admitted.
Boucher’s sudden retirement, after sustaining a severe eye injury while keeping without a helmet during the Proteas’ warm up match against Somerset, forced him to announce an abrupt retirement from the game. While Thami Tsolekile has been drafted in as a replacement for the 35-year-old, head coach Gary Kirsten has revealed that de Villiers will be keeping for the national side in the warm-up match against Kent, and the first Test of the series, which commences on July 19 at the Kennington Oval in London.
Kiwi all-rounder Jacob Oram has revealed that while their early dismissal of Chris Gayle in their 88-run victory over the West Indies has emboldened the New Zealand team to a great extent, they are still wary of the belligerent batsman, and expecting him to pose a major threat throughout the remainder of the series.
“No way do we feel like we're on top of Chris Gayle ... we know he's going to be a massive thorn in our sides and we've got to work just as hard to dismiss him,” Oram said.
Gayle’s scores of 85*, 53, 63*, and 125 had been powerful enough to propel his side to four consecutive victories against the Kiwis before pacer Tim Southee struck in the 3rd ODI of the series, dismissing the Jamaican all-rounder on 11 in the 9th over. The Black Caps went on to claim their first victory of the ongoing tour, and the 5-match ODI series now stands at 2-1, with the 4th match due to be played at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 14.
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