Australia does not need a Brett Lee clone: McDermott

MELBOURNE - Australian bowling legend Craig McDermott has said Australia does not need a Brett Lee clone as their search for new young fast bowlers to lead the attack in the coming years.

Lee’s threatening pace may never be seen again at Test level, FOX Sports reported.

But McDermott, a fast-bowling coach at Cricket Australia’s Centre of Excellence, insists Australia should not purely focus on the need for speed.

“Out-and-out speed is not the be-all and end-all. There are not too many young quicks running around and bowling at 150km,” McDermott said.

“But if there is someone around of the ability to play for Australia, and they bowl at 135-140km/h, there is no problem with that,” he added.

McDermott said young New South Wales pair Burt Cockley and Josh Hazlewood, and South Australia’s Peter George and Tasmania’s James Faulkner all have big futures.