Lee Credits Lillee’s Guidance After Hall of Fame Induction

Brett Lee has paid tribute to fellow fast-bowling great Dennis Lillee, crediting him as a defining influence in a career that has culminated in his induction into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

Renowned as one of the fastest bowlers the game has seen, Lee said his ambition to wear the baggy green and breach the 160kph barrier began when he was just nine years old. However, it was a teenage encounter with Lillee at a fast-bowling camp that proved pivotal.

“Dennis told me, ‘You’re the quickest here, but if you don’t change your bowling action, in two years I reckon you’ll have a broken back,’” Lee, now 49, recalled. At the time, Lee admits he ignored the advice.

“When you’re 16 you think you’re invincible — and two years later I broke my back,” he said.

Recognising his immense potential, Cricket Australia — then known as the Australian Cricket Board — flew Lee to Perth to work closely with Lillee. The collaboration transformed his career.

“Throughout my whole career he’s been incredible in modifying my action, changing my action and allowing me to play — I wouldn’t say pain-free — but to get to the speeds I did,” Lee said.

The results were extraordinary. Lee went on to become one of the most feared fast bowlers in cricket history, claiming 310 wickets in 76 Test matches during one of Australia’s most dominant fast-bowling eras. In limited-overs cricket, he was equally devastating, taking 380 wickets in 221 one-day internationals and 28 wickets in 25 T20 internationals during an international career that spanned from 1999 to 2012.

One of three brothers, Lee said fast bowling was his only dream growing up. He idolised speedsters such as Lillee and Jeff Thomson, treating the 160kph mark as cricket’s equivalent of the four-minute mile.

“I wanted to bowl quick and have that thrill of running in and seeing the stumps fly,” Lee said. “It became an obsession. From the age of nine or 10, I wanted to break that 160kph barrier.”

Lee’s fastest delivery in international cricket was clocked at 161.1kph, placing him among the quickest bowlers the game has ever known. He also spoke of his admiration for Thomson, whose record pace inspired him as a youngster.

“Jeff Thomson was a guy I looked up to through the 70s and 80s. I thought, ‘I want to have a crack at that one day’ — and I was lucky to achieve it,” Lee said.

Beyond individual milestones, Lee was a central figure in one of the most successful periods in Australian cricket, helping the team win ODI World Cups in 2003 and 2007 and playing key roles in multiple Ashes campaigns.

Fittingly, Lee was unveiled as a Hall of Fame inductee on Sunday at the foot of Lillee’s statue outside the Melbourne Cricket Ground, following a bowler-dominated Boxing Day Test — a symbolic moment linking two generations of Australian fast-bowling greatness.