This man, this brilliant bowler, a fashion designer, this musician, this Australian with stunning looks and an amazing personality has been my favorite cricketer since I was nine. When I saw his first ball in that Boxing Day test match I had, like millions of other young girls out there, to just give my heart away. I fell in love. Love with the bowler, the smile, the man and everything there is about him.
My crazy parents, who were with me in whatever I decided to do in my life, were completely on board with this Brett Lee madness also. My dad used to stay awake till odd hours of the morning watching random Test matches of Australia just so he could wake me up when Brett Lee came on to bowl. Whenever Australia had an ODI at whatever odd hours of the day I used to watch those ten overs in which he used to bowl. I ll never forget the number of tests I studied for, projects I wrote, notes I completed sitting in front of the TV, watching these random matches. His pumping fist celebration was something that I'll never forget.
I remember the agony I went through when the Australian Team came to India for a 4 test series in India in 2005, I think (the one in which Michael Clarke made his debut) when he was made to sit on the bench for all the four matches. Apoorva, my fellow Lee fan, and Pallavi, who completed the Cricket Crazy Girl trio in school, used to contemplate before every match about Lee's inclusion (or the lack of it) in the team. I miss those times, when we used to sit on the Volleyball field steps after playing after school hours and yap about Cricket.
His fitness was a source of constant entertainment to my parents, friends, and a constant worry on my mind. The pain I used to feel when he got hurt with all those knee, and ankle injuries is laughable now, but back then, it was very serious, atleast for me. My mother renamed Butter Chicken in our household "Brett Lee Chicken" after I proudly announced that he loved Butter Chicken. That song with Asha Bhonsle made laugh for ages! I was lucky enough to have met the man twice. Yes, if you hope hard enough, dreams do come true.
I think the greatest moment in my life was when I found out that he is a musician too. When he sang "When you say nothing at all" (which at that time was my favorite song) in the Simi Garewal show, and said it was his favorite song, I could have literally DIED! The Allan Border Medal after his brilliant comeback performance in the 2005 Ashes which Australia lost and the VB Series in Australia (where was given Player of the tournament) was just one of the many feathers in his cap. No one will forget that Binga was the last man standing as Australia lost the famous Edgbaston Test in 2005 by just two runs, and even more unforgettable is the Lee-Flintoff handshake.
There are a lot of things to learn from Binga. First and foremost NEVER EVER GIVE UP. Like he said, and like what I firmly believe, for every low there is always a high, if not more. He is absolutely right! His life being the prime example. Everytime the selectors did not select him, he only came back stronger. These holiday I volunteered for a few days in the Hyderabad edition of Mewsic, the NGO he started, and it was a good experience. Spreading joy through music, not a novel concept, but a fun one never the less.
The man is an inspiration. He taught me many things in life. I used to laugh at my mother when she used to say ,"Cricket is not the same without Imran Khan" but now I know, "Cricket will never be the same without Binga running into bowl at 150 kmph".
(All those Cricket pundits out there if any date or fact given in this post is wrong please let me know as this was written purely from my heart, and the events are as I remember them)
