England v Australia -Natwest Final- Lords

[Collyisamackem]

Lee clearly said "sorry, mate" immediately with a look of regret on his face. He didn't mean it.

[Mongoose]

I wasn't aware that this was a problem Lee has had on a few occasions. If he is prone to bowling these deliveries (and I'm not suggesting it's deliberate) then something needs to be done, as it is indeed very dangerous. The problem may be the new ball - I can remember a period in which I struggled to grip the new ball and bowled the odd beamer early on. If it's the new ball that he has problems with, then he either needs to sort out his grip or not open the bowling. May seem harsh, but it's better than having a dead or seriously injured batsman at the other end.

[Collyisamackem]

Maybe (and I'm serious here) Lee should bowl a couple of miles an hour slower, he'll stil be dangewrous if he gets his lines right, and he'll concede less extras. Safety of the batsmen has to come first over bowling speeds.

[Mongoose]

I don't think you can tell a bowler to bowl slightly slower to protect the batsman. It just doesn't work - cricket is a competition, and you need the players playing full on. Lee needs to find another way of avoiding bowling beamers. Bowling slower doesn't necessarily mean more control anyway. Bowlers find a natural rhythm, which usually comes from bowling at a natuaral pace, not trying to bowl too fast, but not bowling too slow either.

[greg]

He did apologise straight away but when you have a history of bowling them it makes the case against him a bit stronger rather than the accident theory.It's something he needs to work on because bowlers of that ability shouldn't have lapses like this on a regular basis.

[Beny]

Bowlers find a natural rhythm, which usually comes from bowling at a natuaral pace, not trying to bowl too fast, but not bowling too slow either.

Bang on. People forget to mention that Lee coped two over in Australia against Pakistan. All bowlers are prone to them and at Lee's pace it is so much harder... 20 cm's is how far his foot was slipping... Thats huge and it affects a bowler no end. I know as a bowler myself (pointedly not as fast as Lee ), that if something puts you off and makes you loose confidence then it can become very hard to regain your line and length. Remember that the difference between a yorker and a Beamer is about 3/4 of a second.

[Lemming]

Originally Posted by Beny

Remember that the difference between a yorker and a Beamer is about 3/4 of a second.

What does that mean? I'm a bit confused by that!

I've just read on Ceefax that Lee had said that he felt very embarrassed at what happened. He recieved a formal warning from David Sheppard and reckoned it took him a few deliveries to regain composure again. As I've said before it was completely accidental.

It's a good job it wasn't someone bowling a beamer at Hayden though! He would have gone spare. I think credit should be given to Trescothick because I reckon he took it like a man, and didn't react to what was, potentially, a very, very dangerous ball!

[Victor Frankenstein]

he means if you let it go 3/4 of a second early it comes out at beamer height instead of yorker length. I'm with Lee on this one though, it's an honest mistake and an easy one to make, it's only made more of a fuss of because he bowls so fast. I've let a fair few beamers go in my time and it is upsetting as whilst i like to bowl aggressively i never go with the intent of hurting someone and i'm sure Lee is the same. It really puts you off your rhythm as you try desperately not to do it again.

I do think that whenever there are incidents like this the umpires/match ref should make an effort to get all the respective parties together at the end of the game to make sure there are no hard feelings, as it definatly seems like hayden is bearing a grudge after he was hit and jones in his bbc interview said he hadn't spoken to him which is a shame as i feel sure that he too didn't mean to do it.

[Collyisamackem]

Originally Posted by Mongoose

I don't think you can tell a bowler to bowl slightly slower to protect the batsman. It just doesn't work - cricket is a competition, and you need the players playing full on. Lee needs to find another way of avoiding bowling beamers. Bowling slower doesn't necessarily mean more control anyway. Bowlers find a natural rhythm, which usually comes from bowling at a natuaral pace, not trying to bowl too fast, but not bowling too slow either.

Fair point.

[Seamer]

In my bowling days, i was just a medium pacer, and even then i occasionally let the odd beamer go. Just like the odd long hop gets bowled, so does the beamer. Can't be avoided. If you bowl two in an innings, you are removed from the attack for the remainder of the innings. This is a fair rule, and what alternitive could we have.