‘It’s not just the yorker, it’s the angle’ – Brett Lee explains why ‘freak of nature’ Bumrah is in a league of his own | Exclusive

Former Australia quick Brett Lee has opened up on the significance of pacers at multi-team events. Lee’s remarks come ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Even though pacers don’t extract as much purchase in the sub-continent as the spinners, Lee highlighted the value that the quicks bring to each team and what role pace could play on spin-conducive tracks.

Lee reckoned that spinners will have to control the middle phase of the game on Indian and Sri Lankan wickets. However, he noted that tweakers cannot be relied upon in the death overs, especially against modern-day batters.

“Well, they[teams] need quality quicks because fast bowling, I think, is one of the most exciting parts of the game. And at the death, I think it’s easier to take spinners down. Spinners find it very hard to bowl the 19th and 20th overs because batsmen are so fluky and dainty with what they do, and they’re so skill-based,” Lee said during the latest episode of the Mr Cricket UAE podcast.

“So, as I said, the batsmen and the team that play spin the best through that middle period will be up there to win the World Cup. The team that’s got the best bowlers who can execute the yorkers at the death will be up there to win the World Cup.

“So, two aspects: batting through that middle period against spin, and the bowlers – how they can close it out. Now, whether they are closing out the first innings, you need great bowlers.

Lee also shed light on the need for emerging bowling talents to practice specific deliveries to excel at the highest level. He stressed the importance of mastering yorkers to succeed in white-ball cricket, as batters continue to reinvent themselves and the game continues to evolve. The former pacer also revealed the drills he followed during his playing days.

“I keep saying, boys and girls out there, if you want to play higher-level cricket, work on your yorkers. It’s like, I think bowlers these days – batsmen moving around, of course – but I used to get a pair of my shoes, my bowling shoes, and put them on the crease line, or a couple bowls of water, to try and blow the shoes away. And I’d do it for an hour. I’d bowl yorkers, because people can do it in the nets, but under pressure, when you’re tired and you’ve got, you know, someone like SKY [Suryakumar Yadav] walking around the crease, he’s lapping you, you have got someone like Glenn Maxwell from Australia who can hit you inside out, you have got big power hitters from Sri Lanka – it’s tough to bowl.

The 49-year-old cited the example of India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and his ability to nail pinpoint yorkers at will, which he believes makes him a cut above the rest in the modern game.

“But if you can nail your yorker at the death, which is why Jasprit Bumrah, I mean, he’s a freak of nature – he’s so good. I was just going to ask, is everyone like Bumrah, though? Does everyone have that talent like Bumrah? I’m not. I wish I would have played with Bumrah, and I wish I had him in my team, because he’s so good.

“And it’s not how he executes his yorker, it’s where he bowls. He bowls past the perpendicular. So, he bowls out there, he darts the ball in. So many batters get bowled because of the speed of the ball, because he runs in like a little catapult and just zips the ball in. But then, of course, the angle - that’s why he blows a lot of the front toes off," he concluded.