By IANS,
Melbourne : Australian spearhead Brett Lee insists that his marriage break-up is not the reason for his form slump in the ongoing Test series against India.
Lee, who separated from his wife Liz in August, has been the biggest disappointment for the visitors in the three Tests so far.
Lee said the reasons for his struggle on this Indian tour are cricketing and not emotional.
He said his failure is because of the inability to overcome unhelpful pitches and cricket balls that won’t swing for him, not the upheaval of his marriage break-up, which cost him a month of training and playing.
“I try and keep to cricket,” Lee was quoted as saying in The Australian.
“I don’t try and mix things. I take it to heart if someone puts the emotional stuff forward. It’s obviously been tough. There have been a lot of things in the last three or four months that have gone on but I’m here to play cricket.”
“I wouldn’t have come on this tour if I wasn’t ready. I was certainly ready.”
Australia’s cricket hierarchy was concerned about Lee’s preparation for the series. After claiming just one wicket an innings in the opening two Tests, he undertook an intensive training programme during the week off in Delhi, before the third Test.
Captain Ricky Ponting was happier with Lee’s 2-48 from 17 overs in the second innings in the drawn Test in Delhi.
“I thought Brett’s pace and intensity in this game was a lot better. He hit the crease a lot harder and ran in and bowled a lot quicker in this game so there were lots of positive signs for him.”
But with just seven wickets at an average of 58 from the first three Tests, Lee needs to improve his performance significantly if Australia is to have any hope of winning the last Test in Nagpur, starting Thursday, to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.