Lee upset with flat Oz tracks by CricketArchive staff reporter

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Player:	B Lee
Event:	England in Australia 2006/07

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DateLine: 13th December 2006

 

Australian pace bowler Brett Lee voiced concern Tuesday that flat wickets are killing fast bowling in his country.

 

The English encountered tepid wickets for the first two Ashes Tests, particularly in Adelaide, which were more reminiscent of the subcontinent than what is expected on an Australian tour.

 

On the eve of the third Test, in which the once legendary WACA bounce and pace is expected to be missing, Lee has added his voice to the chorus of concern. He warned that the development of fast bowlers would be hampered by the trend towards placid decks around Australia.

 

There was a time when every Lee visit to the WACA led to talk about breaking the magic 100mph bowling speed barrier. It was at the ground that the speedster first earned Test selection with a withering spell for New South Wales. However, there has been no such talk this week.

 

"I'm expecting it to be very slow, as it has been over the past couple of years," Lee told agencies. "If there's enough carry for the quicks then everyone's happy. If it gets to the stage where it's a real flat batting wicket then no one will want to bowl fast. It's important there's enough there for the quicks. I'm not a person to whinge, but I just hope that Perth is the wicket we are expecting or has been in the past, but we'll have to see."

 

Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist also called for a return to the traditional WACA pitch. Asked if the WACA glory days are over, he said: "I hope not but they seem to be at the moment. I am sure everyone is striving to get back to that. It would be nice for each ground to maintain its own characteristics," he said Tuesday.

 

England opener Alastair Cook on Monday wondered if all the talk of hard and fast Australian pitches was a myth. "You hear everything about coming to Australia and the bouncy wickets, but the bounciest wickets I've played on in my career so far have all been in England," Cook said. "It's been surprising."

 

While others grapple with the placid pitch crisis, England captain Andrew Flintoff has been busy scotching rumours of a rift with struggling pace bowler Steve Harmison. There was talk of a rift between the two good mates after the final day disaster in Adelaide, but Flintoff dismissed the claim in an English newspaper.

 

"There's been talk that myself and Harmy have had some sort of falling out. I don't know where that's come from," Flintoff told The Sun newspaper in the UK. "He's one of my best mates and nothing has changed."

 

Flintoff turned 29 the day after that game and said he got a birthday card from Harmison - wishing him a happy 30th. "I got a few cards - one from Harmy saying Happy 30th Birthday," Flintoff revealed. "In fact, three of the cards said the same thing. I don't know if they were taking the Mickey."

 

England batsman Kevin Pietersen on Tuesday said the English were rallying around the embattled Flintoff, because that is what the fast bowler would do for a struggling teammate.

 

"Steve is a great, great guy, very giving, very thoughtful, just a nice guy who is one of our mates," Pietersen said. "You can't really hate Steve because he has a bad day, you just pick him up because he is always there for everybody else."