Lee 'as quick as ever'.

[Beny]

Secret behind fit Lee
By James Hooper
13nov04

RUNNING sprints in 47 degree heat is only part of the secret behind the slimline Brett Lee you will see pushing for selection in the Australian team this summer.

Currently the odd man out in the baggy green fast bowling ranks, Lee has revealed how he shed eight kilograms on the recent tour of the subcontinent as he attempted to break back into the Test team.

A typical day of training was the equivalent of sporting torture for most people, working with the rest of the Australian team before embarking on a gruelling regimen of extras to get fit for the summer.

"I said before I went away if I didn't play a game then I was just going to focus on my fitness and getting a really hard off-season under my belt," Lee said.

"Because of the amount of time we are away on tour you don't really get the opportunity for a proper off-season so I just decided to try and get super fit.

"The result is I lost about eight kilos and I'm feeling the fittest I have ever been."

Several retired Australian cricketers were surprised by how thin Lee looked at a Northern Districts charity lunch last Wednesday but the speedster is adamant trimming up was the best thing for him.

Australian team trainer Jock Campbell said while Lee had lost weight he had increased his strength through a weights program, with the results adding more zip to his bowling.

Having recently returned from ankle surgery there was a thought Lee should try to slow down slightly but Campbell believes he is fit enough to bowl as fast as he wants.

"He was like a rabid dog with his training in India - you just couldn't give him enough," Campbell said. "I told him if he did get a game I really wanted him to explode on the scene, not just ease his way back in.

"All the blokes in the nets were commenting about how quick he was, saying he really had his pace back.

"He was charging in all training session and then doing a full day of boxing, sprints, weights and pilates as well.

"It was really a mark of the sort of man he is."

Along with boxing, swimming, sprint work and weights, Lee would finish the day with a pilates session for core stability.

Lee is currently ranked fourth in the Australian pace bowling pecking order behind Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz for the next Test in Brisbane.

* NEW Zealand captain Stephen Fleming lasted only 15 minutes during a net session yesterday in the clearest sign he is struggling to play in Thursday's first Test against Australia at the Gabba. Fleming is now rated only a 50-50 chance by New Zealand Cricket sources.

[Ernest]

Beny,
It will be interesting to see how this new look Lee makes out.

When Flintoff came into the England side, you could always tell there was something about him, but to be blunt. he was gettin fat.

He was so keen on retaining his England place, he worked hard and slimmed down to his correct weight, and it made all the difference, and when he was out due to his ankle injury, he did hill running to regain fitness, he was not afraid of hard work, he deserves all his success.

So Lee has done the same, well congradulations to him, and I mean that, hard work and dedication deserves reward, we will have to see if it pays off for him, like it did Flintoff.

Ern