Brett Lee, the former Australia fast bowler, has said that the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia has seen the revival of “proper quick bowling” in the shortest format, which was the case during the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007 before extra pace came to be seen as a “negative.”
Ahead of Australia’s key group game against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, Lee mentioned how Australian pacers had taken all nine England wickets that fell to bowlers in their 2007 World T20 clash in Cape Town.
“We were really still figuring out how the format worked and having lost to Zimbabwe in the opening game, it’s fair to say we were fired up heading to Cape Town. We managed to dismiss England for 135 and chase it down inside 15 overs. Although we went on to lose the semi-final (to India), it was nice to put our stamp on the first tournament,” Lee wrote in his ICC column.
Lee pointed to Australia and England as examples of teams with quality pace bowlers.
“All of the wickets we took that day were from quick bowlers and the role of seamers in the T20 format has really evolved since then. When it came in. we thought it was all about the quickies, that spinners would just be lined up and hit out of the attack.
“It didn’t turn out that way with slow bowlers in fashion for much of the last decade. Pace on the ball in the shorter forms of the game has been seen as a negative. I think things have come full circle and here in Australia at this T20 World Cup we are seeing proper quick bowling come back into fashion.”
Things have been especially lopsided so far in the T20 World Cup at the MCG, where pacers have averaged only 18.04 while spinners have averaged 31, although the economy-rates have not been too far apart, at 7.52 and 7.91 respectively.
Lee pointed to Australia and England as examples of teams with quality pace bowlers. “Just look at these two teams for starters. I have been really impressed with the way Josh Hazelwood has grown as a white-ball bowler and the way he has got to grips with all these variations you need to succeed. We know what Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc can do – as a trio they are a bowling attack that will strike fear in any batting line-up, including England’s.
“Mark Wood is the man of the moment for England. He is one of the sharpest in the world when he’s fit and firing and Australia will have to find a way to nullify his threat. Conditions in Australia obviously favour these guys – but look at last year, when Australia’s pace attack took them all the way in the UAE and Oman (in the 2021 T20 World Cup).”
