Former
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee says that he enjoyed the challenge of bowling
to the great Sachin Tendulkar during his career as well as other batting
legends such as Brian Lara.
He adds
that unlike other batsmen, Tendulkar was never someone who Australia would try
to sledge as the tactic would have proved fruitless.
Talking to
us at an event where he was announced as a Global Hearing Ambassador for
Cochlear, he began by recalling being hit for six by Chris Gayle at the 2009
ICC World Twenty20 at The Oval.
"I
think I bowled a slower ball to Chris Gayle which he picked up and hit me out
of the park," he recalled.
"It
went into a school so they ended up getting the ball back about 15 minutes
later!"
However,
Lee has many other happy memories with the ball, even if he did play in an era
when Tendulkar, Lara and others were in their pomp.
"Andrew
Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen, those types of batsman you are bowling to, change
the game in the space of an hour," he said, adding Gayle and recently
dropped Australian all-rounder Shane Watson to that category.
But it was
Tendulkar who he most enjoyed bowling to.
"Sachin
Tendulkar was always my favourite to bowl to, only because of who he was.
"He played
200 Test matches, and he's a guy that no one ever says a word to. You might go
in and say a few words to other batsmen but to Sachin you don't say a word,
it's respect.
"If
you say a word, he's going to get 400!
"I've
played in an era among batting greats like Tendulkar, Brian Lara, all those
greats. It's been a lot of fun."
