Brett Lee - Retirement too late?

Brett Lee was a fast bowler - there is no denying that. From the start of his career as a teenager, he terrorized batsmen with his close-to-100mph speeds, shattering confidences and helmets. And for a while that was enough. He had the support of good bowlers for most of his Test career - the likes of McGrath and Warne - so just being fast was enough for him to claim a decent amount of Test wicket.

Since the retirement of these greats Lee had to become a different sort of bowler. And he did. His Test average after McGrath's retirement in 2007 is actually better than his overall Test average (and hence his average prior to that time). However his problem has been with injuries, rather than his technique, or skill as a fast bowler in his early 30s.

Since the end of 2008, Lee has played 4 T20, 13 ODI and no Test matches. His retirement from the Test arena this year seems to raise the question "Why not last year, Brett?". In his absence Bollinger, Johnson, Hilfenhaus, Siddle and Hauritz have all put in top notch performances. Performances that may have been better if they hadn't been looking over their shoulder worrying if they would have a place in the Test team when Lee returned from injury.

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Ave	5	10
Bollinger	8	16	294.1	62	903	39	23.15	2	0
Johnson	17	32	651	119	2231	81	27.54	3	1
Siddle	14	26	493.2	136	1473	51	28.88	2	0
Hilfenhaus	9	16	328.5	75	1040	34	30.58	0	0
Hauritz	12	23	490	104	1477	44	33.56	2	0

Likewise, Harris, McKay, Watson and Bollinger have all done exceptionally well in the ODIs.

Player	Mat	Inns	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Ave	4	5
Harris	12	11	98.1	9	450	29	15.51	0	2
McKay	10	10	87.4	10	403	22	18.31	1	0
Watson	36	26	192	6	959	45	21.31	1	0
Bollinger	20	20	163.4	18	722	33	21.87	1	2
Lee	13	12	104.1	7	501	21	23.85	0	1
Johnson	40	38	343.1	18	1767	63	28.04	2	0
Hauritz	44	42	339	11	1566	50	31.32	1	0
Siddle	15	14	110	8	499	14	35.64	0	0
Hopes	41	37	264.1	11	1228	33	37.21	0	0
Bracken	24	24	213	17	1002	26	38.53	0	0
Hilfenhaus	14	14	119.2	10	691	17	40.64	0	0

Surely retiring from the Test side to focus on ODIs and T20s was just an attempt to keep playing a game that his body no longer seems capable of continuing with. Many other bowlers continue with Tests and retire from the shorter version of the game, perhaps because playing Test match cricket seems to still capture the hearts and minds of the players and the fans. Where Test matches are a full length movie epsiode, ODIs are more like an episode of a drama TV show, and T20s like the Simpsons. Sure, watching the Simpsons is great, but at the end of the day, they don't give an Oscar to the best actor in any given Simpsons episode. 

This latest injury to Brett Lee must surely lead to him considering retirement from all forms of the game, which these days isn't necessarily the death knell that it used to be. It simply means that he can focus on the IPL while he still has a few years of moderate short term bowling left in him.