Lee ruled out of rest of series
News is not very encouraging for Australian express bowler Brett Lee
25-Nov-2009
News is not very encouraging for Australian express bowler Brett Lee.
He was ruled out of both the fourth and fifth Tests against the beleaguered West
Indies, after examinations by Australian Cricket Board medical staff last night
revealed his injured back had not properly healed.
A frustrated Lee said he understood it was in his best interests to sit out the
rest of the series but he was hopeful of returning for the One-Day International
series in early January.
The decision to rest Lee for the remaining Tests is a setback to what had become
a glittering career. He was found to have the early signs of stress fractures in
his lower back after emerging stiff and sore from the last day of the second
Test in Perth three weeks ago.
He was ruled out of the Adelaide Test as a result, but hopeful Australian
selectors named him and captain Steve Waugh in a 14-man squad for the fourth
Test.
Lee was forced to wear a neck-to-waist brace for eight weeks after suffering
stress fractures to his back while at the Australian Cricket Academy in 1996.
He worked with former Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee to correct faults in
his action with a view to avoiding future problems. The new signs of stress
fractures detected in Lee's back are in a different region to his 1996 problem
and can heal with rest. It is believed his modified fully front-on action will
not need to be changed.