Lee and Shoaib may soon operate together

By Malcolm Conn

CANBERRA, OCT. 24. The world's two fastest bowlers, Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar, could form the most terrorising club attack of all time after the Pakistani paceman rang Lee to try and secure a game with his Sydney grade club Mossman.

Attempts to get Shoaib to Australia come as Dennis Lillee warned Lee not to rush his comeback from injury and Steve Waugh refused to endorse the exciting speedster as a starter in the first Test against New Zealand, beginning in Brisbane on November 8.

``Whoever bowls well will take that third spot, whether it be a third fast bowler or a spinner,'' said Waugh, who will consult with the selectors before the team is chosen late next week.

``Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie are pretty close to certainties but for the third spot, whoever does the business will get there. There is a lot of competition but no one has my unconditional support. You've got to be in there performing.''

Shoaib is a friend of Lee's and the pair has spent time together in Australia outside of tours.

``We're good mates. It would be great to catch up again,'' Lee said.

A mutual friend contacted Lee about Shoaib's desire to play in Australia, prompting Lee's manager, Neil Maxwell of Sporting Frontiers, to begin putting the processes in motion through the New South Wales Cricket Association.

``Things are a bit slow in Pakistan at the moment,'' Maxwell said of the disruption to cricket due to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

``Shoaib is hugely excited about the possibility of playing a couple of months of cricket with Brett.''

The pair has been vying for the title of the world's fastest bowler for the past two years, with Lee just shading Shoaib. The only contemporary club attack which could match the pair for pace and reputation was when Jeff Thomson and Lee Pascoe played for Bankstown together in the early `70s.

However, Lee, who had a slow start to the season because of a side strain, has a more immediate concern-to perform well in the coming Pura Cup match for New South Wales against South Australia, beginning at the Sydney Cricket Ground tomorrow.

It is his only chance of impressing the selectors before the first Test, but Lillee is concerned that Lee may hinder his long- term cause by going too hard too early.

``The only thing I said to him was `ease your way in','' Lillee said he told Lee recently when the fast bowling legend was casting an eye over Lee's action during his comeback.

`` `It's a long summer. Don't try to bowl as quickly as you can in the early games,' because he's had a bit of a history of injuries in the last couple of years.''

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : Wiseman replaces Vettori
Next     : Waqar advocates best-of-three finals