Brett Lee has seized the mantle of Australia's greatest limited-overs fast bowler with his annihilation of South Africa at Telstra Dome on Friday night, says Jason Gillespie.
Lee captured a career-best 5-22 to spearhead Australia to a 59-run win and a five-point break in the tri-series competition leading into today's clash with Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Bowling with wicked pace and control, Lee rocked the stumps of four of the Proteas' top seven batsmen after removing struggling captain and opener Graeme Smith, caught behind by Brad Haddin.
Asked whether Lee could now be classified as the best paceman in world cricket, Gillespie, a long-time bowling partner in Australia's Test and one-day teams, went a step further, praising the 29-year-old Wollongong-born quick as Australia's greatest ever.
"He's been the best one-day bowler in the world for the past couple of years," Gillespie said. "He's very fast, he swings it, he's been brilliant and has good control now. He's nothing short of sensational at the moment.
"Brett and Glenn McGrath are two different types of bowlers. Glenn is fast-medium and hits the track hard. But, with his sheer pace and the way he's bowling at the moment, I'd say Brett's the best we've ever had."
Gillespie said Lee was now reaping the benefits of hard work and application. "That 18 months out of the Test team he used to continue developing his bowling," he said. "That work has taken him to another level."
His opinion was backed by former international paceman Damien Fleming, who said Lee had taken over the mantle as Ricky Ponting's "go-to man" from McGrath.
"I've never seen him bowl better," Fleming said yesterday. "He hasn't lost any of his pace, but now he's bowling good areas consistently. The South African top order looked really hesitant against him the other night. They looked like they were trying first just to not get knocked over and hit runs second.
"Brett's the best white-ball bowler in the world, it's hard to think of anyone better. His run up looks superb, he's got great rhythm and once you have those things right everything else takes care of itself," Fleming said.
- DAVID SYGALL