Brett Lee says the fan backlash towards the Aussie cricket team can be solved with one simple change — winning.
The Fox Cricket commentator has called for the Aussie team to revert to stability with its selections this summer after a T20 World Cup defence on home soil that appeared to be derailed by the unsettled Aussie team selections.
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Ahead of the First Test against the West Indies, beginning on Wednesday in Perth, Lee says there is a simple solutions to the team’s woes.
The build up to the series opener at Optus Stadium continues to be dominated by the explosive fallout to the sacking of former coach Justin Langer and suggestions of a rift between the current dressing room and Langer’s former test teammates.
Despite the doom and gloom Lee can see a clear path forward for the Aussie team to pull itself out of its public opinion nosedive.
“That’s to win. They have to win games of cricket,” he said as FOXTEL launched the ‘Game’s Greatest characters’ campaign for the 2022/23 summer.
“The Australian public, they want to see Australia dominating in all formats of the game.
“They were the first to admit it, they would have loved to have gone further in the T20 World Cup. Only 12 months ago, they won it.
“If you look at the T20 World Cup, they made a lot of changes. They chopped around with the order. They chopped around with who was bowling at the death. And they really didn’t get to settle on their best line-up. I use the analogy, they’ve got the right guys on the bus, but they’re probably sitting in the wrong seats.
“This Australian team right now have got all the makings of a great test team for the future.”
He said he also doesn’t want to see any further disruptions to team cohesion through the resting of players — despite admitting the team has had a full schedule recently and are heading into another busy 12 months, including the 2023 World Cup.
“I don’t want to make excuses for the guy’s playing. The Australian public want to see us winning cricket matches and playing as hard as they can,” Lee said.
“What I don’t like seeing is guys resting or being forced to rest for whatever reason it is. But you also have to have one eye on the Australian summer and the test series coming up.”
He said it would not have gone unnoticed by the players that stadiums were so empty during the T20 World Cup and during the ODI series against England.
“I know as a former player, when you’re playing to 10,000 people, it’s not enjoyable,” he said.
“Cricket, the No. 1 sport in Australia, should be a packed house every time.
“It’s disappointing. I think if you chat to any Australian player, any former Australian player up in the commentary box, as a Fox Sports commentator, I want to be commentating in the right atmosphere — a packed crowd.”
This summer FOXTEL and Fox Cricket are searching for the ‘Game’s Greatest characters’ in a campaign in partnership with News Corp.
The campaign has compiled a list of 100 of the biggest characters in Australian cricket history, but now it’s up to the fans to vote to find the No.1.
Fans will be able to vote for the number one personality from a list that features the most legendary icons across the decades.
Voting starts on Monday November 28 and continues online via News Corp websites until Friday December 16, before the number one character is revealed as part of the Melbourne Test against South Africa broadcast on Fox Cricket.
