Lee all set to announce Test retirement

Tired of battling one injury breakdown after another,Australian pacer Brett Lee is all set to announce his Test retirement on Wednesday after being persuaded to do so by good friend Andrew Flintoff.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald,the 33-year-old Lee,nursing an elbow injury right now,discussed the matter with Flintoff and the English all-rounder convinced him to give up the five-day format for a longer stint in ODIs and Twenty20s. A discussion with Andrew Flintoff has persuaded Brett Lee to retire from Test cricket,effective immediately. The Australian fast bowler,fourth on the all-time list of Australian wicket-takers,will announce this week his decision not to attempt a comeback from another serious injury, the newspaper reported.

Lee,who spent most of the past year recuperating from injuries,has 310 wickets under his belt from 76 Tests since his debut in 1999. The tearaway bowler is behind only Shane Warne (708),Glenn McGrath (563) and Dennis Lillee (355) in the highest Test wicket-takers list for Australia.

A winner of the Allan Border medal for being Australias best cricketer in 2008,Lee has not played a Test since the 2008 Boxing Day match here against South Africa. He limped out of that match with a stress fracture of the foot and after playing in an ODI series and the Twenty20 World Championship in May-June post-recovery,he was once again laid low by an elbow injury.