Hughes wonders about beaming Lee into the test squad, Buchanan and Fletcher clash

The controversy over Brett Lee's beamer to Trescothick in the NatWest Series final is unlikely to die down soon. Lee has been trigger-happy with his beamers in the past but while he does seem apologetic, his excuse is really quite pathetic. He is quoted as saying "When you are bowling at such a high velocity and trying to get momentum through the crease and try to bowl a yorker you only look at a slight variation in your trajectory to the wicket".

Brett, let me do you a favour and explain the definition of velocity. You may have forgotten your physics, but I (we) haven't. There is a subtle difference between velocity and speed. Speed is a scalar quantity which measures the rate of motion. Velocity is a vector quantity and includes the direction of motion. Sadly enough, your beamers dont qualify as 'high velocity' because they lack direction.

Putting aside concerns on his beamers, Lee reckons that Andrew Strauss is due for a big score. Even though Strauss topped the runscorers list in the NatWest Series, most of his runs came against Bangladesh and he was found severely wanting against Australia.

After the tied final, with the jury still being out on who came off better, Fletcher and Buchanan have now declared war. Fletcher had claimed after the game that he was happy to see Australia rattled and indulging in lots of conferences even as England inched their way to the target. He also made a couple of comments on Australia's batsmen being uncomfortable against Harmison and the way McGrath was "protected" by Hussey. Buchanan has now responded commenting on how Strauss, Trescothick and Vaughan have fared against the Australian opening bowlers as well as how England could miss out on good fielders during the tests, given that among Pietersen, Solanki & Collingwood, only Pietersen looks to have a chance of making the Ashes squad. Michael Vaughan doesnt seem too worried about his batsmen's form even though the BBC's analysis shows that there is plenty of cause for concern.

Simon Jones seems genuinely relieved at not having to face those pesky Bangladeshis again.

Merv Hughes, who recently became an Australian selector, has dropped hints that he favours Brett Lee playing in the first Test. But he is unable to figure out which bowler to drop. Maybe he finds it tough to figure out which of Kasprowicz or Gillespie to drop? I think there's an easy way out: get the new one-day rules extended to tests as well to ensure that Lee continues to be 12th man.

In 1972, the English cricket following public got introduced to Lillian Massie, but with not quite the same long-term impact as their introduction to Lillian Thomson.

Labels: beamer, lee