Brett Lee will definitely line up for Australia in the first Ashes Test against England at the Gabba next month even though his wife is due to give birth to their first child the day before the start. The Lees have agreed that, should the birth of their child, a boy, clash with the Test, the fast bowler will remain in Brisbane to play.
"We've said right from the start, which is credit to the person that Liz is, I will definitely be playing in the first Ashes Test," Lee said. "I'm hoping and praying that it either comes early or late. To me, cricket is important, but family is the most important thing in my life. Hopefully I can be there for both."
Lee has turned down $A50,000 (£35,000) for exclusive photographs of his wedding and baby. He declined an offer from a women's magazine for the rights to photograph his wedding to Liz Kemp in June, and has since rejected a further deal for photographs of their child.
Lee has even more reason than most of the Australia team for wanting revenge over England after being involved in the closest finish in Ashes history at Edgbaston, where he was at the crease as the Aussies fell just two runs short of victory.
He has lent a personal memento from the match, a signed painting capturing Andrew Flintoff's gesture of sportsmanship moments after Michael Kasprowicz's dismissal, to the Museum of Sydney, as part of its Ashes display, which will feature the original urn.
- DUNCAN MACKAY