Brett Lee - sings better than he bowls?!

Brett Lee dominated the abandoned one-dayer in Australia today, and he was man-of-the-series in the recent Test series v India. Suddenly, he appears to be Australia's best bowler, having for years looked like an also-ran. His 100% commitment and his handy runs from number 9 (he averages over 20 with the bat in Tests) have never been in doubt, but there have been times when I've questioned Australia's determination to pick him seemingly without question. There's no doubt he's in the form of his life at the moment though.

Brett Lee came in at number 24 in Shane Warne's top 50, ahead of Steve Waugh. I'm not sure than anyone other than Warne would argue that Lee should really come above Waugh, but it's interesting that someone like Warne rated Lee so highly. Perhaps only now that he's had the support of McGrath and Warne taken away, he can really have the confidence that he is one of the best - if not the best - Aussie bowler.

As an Englishman, perhaps my view is clouded by the fact that Lee seems to have underperformed against us Poms. In his first 3 series against England he averaged 55, 41 and 41, which is hardly the sort of form that gets you placed 24 in a list of leading international cricketers. Even in the thrashing of England in Australia last year, Lee averaged 33 which, while good, did nothing to elevate his status above that of a whole-hearted trier, which is how many Englishmen see him.

But Brett's certainly come good. Which is more than we can say for his attempt at a pop career in India, although I gather this effort did pretty well in the charts!