England v Australia, NatWest Series final

Lee apologises for latest beamer

Cricinfo staff

July 5, 2005

David Shepherd warns Brett Lee © Getty Images

Brett Lee has admitted his embarrassment at unleashing another 90mph beamer, this time at Marcus Trescothick during the NatWest Series final at Lord's on Saturday.

Lee was slammed after bowling a beamer to New Zealand's Brendon McCullum earlier in the year and, although he apologised after sending Trescothick sprawling early on in England's innings, questions were again raised.

"It is something I am not proud of - I am embarrassed about the whole thing," Lee told BBC Sport afterwards. "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.

"I went up there and apologised straight away," Lee added. "It took me a couple of balls to get over it. You are under a lot of pressure to do well for your country and your team-mates and to have another distraction thrown at you is quite tough."

Ricky Ponting also leapt to the defence of his bowler. "It knocked the confidence out of him straight away. If you look at him after that beamer that he bowled, he's holding back and [bowling] within himself immediately after that because he just can't keep his front foot [from slipping].

"I'm not trying to defend it or anything, but if you could slow it down and have a look at his front foot you'd understand he's slipping a lot. There didn't seem to be any hard feelings out on the ground. Trescothick accepted the apology and everyone got on with it from there."

At the time of the incident with McCullum, Peter Roebuck, in his syndicated column, called for Lee to be sent home from New Zealand. "His beamer was merely the latest in a series of violent deliveries sent down by a pace bowler at best reckless in his approach and at worst utterly unwilling to remain within long-accepted parameters governing conduct on the cricket field," he fumed. "If Australia's captain, coach and manager did not have sharp words with Lee after the match then they stand in dereliction of their duties."

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