Australian cricket legend Brett Lee has left Fox presenter Mark Howard in need of stitches after the pair were involved in a freak accident while filming a promotional video at the University of Sydney.
According to The advertiserHoward had kept the wicket when Lee produced a cannon of a delivery that took one of the bails off the stumps.
In a bizarre turn of events, the Aussie Test giant loosened one of the bails, sending it flying towards the presenter crouched behind the stumps.
The bail was reportedly ‘impaled into the television presenter’s head’, with blood pouring from his forehead and covering the bail that had cut him open.
He was then sent to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he was cared for by a cricket-loving doctor.
“We were filming a bowling challenge today. I bowled a ball, it went through the top, Howie held the ball, he caught the ball and I heard two noises,” Lee told The Advertiser.
“I saw him bent over and I thought, ‘Gosh, what happened,’ and I realized the bail had flown through and impaled him right in the middle of the head and there was burgundy everywhere.
Brett Lee (left) left TV presenter Mark Howard (right) needs stitches this week after a bizarre bowling incident during a shoot
Howard claimed he would wear the scar as a badge of honor, adding “he could say it was Brett Lee’s”
Brett Lee (left) left TV presenter Mark Howard (right) needs stitches this week after a bizarre bowling incident during a shoot
“He was bleeding quite heavily.”
Fortunately, Howard appears to be okay after the incident, briefly posing next to Lee as he points to the stitched wound on his forehead and admitting he would still be on Fox Cricket for the first delivery of the second Test between India and Australia, which starts on Friday.
He added that if a scar appeared on his forehead, he would wear the mark as a “badge of honour”, adding that he could say it belonged to legendary Australian bowler Brett Lee.
But just a few inches lower, Howard could have been in danger of losing his vision.
Lee, meanwhile, was stunned by the incident and claimed: ‘In all my years of playing cricket at professional level, I have never seen a bail travel so fast or so quickly.
“There was a one in a million chance of it happening and I think the bail hit him first before he caught the ball, which means the ball must have literally hit the top of the stump.”
Despite having his mind blown by the bail, Howard still managed to receive the thunderbolt in his gloves, which he said he was ‘happy’ about.
Brett Lee (left, next to Michael Vaughan) said he had never seen anything like this happen in his life
Lee took 310 wickets during his Test career and was one of Australia’s fiercest bowlers
Lee (right) once punched British TV host Piers Morgan (left) in the ribs during a TV net session
‘It would happen in a million. I’m glad it didn’t hit me in the eye. He [Lee] was very concerned. There was blood everywhere and then there was an argument: ‘No, no, definitely not an ambulance,’ but there was literally a hospital 200 yards away,” Howard said.
“They looked after me there, they were fantastic at RPA. There was a very friendly doctor who was a big cricket fan and was just excited that he was treating someone who had been hit by Brett Lee, I think.
“Hopefully, if there’s a scar, I can always say it was Brett Lee’s, which I think is a pretty good badge of honor.
“I might look a little rough and ready during the shoot and probably a little during the Test match too, I thought.”
He added: “I will be there for the first ball on Friday and I will no doubt get a lot of sympathy from my teammates on Fox Cricket commentary. I’m sure it will get a good impression in the news, unfortunately.’
Over the years, Lee has claimed several victims through his fast bowling, including British journalist Piers Morgan. The Australian cricketer had hit the British TV star during a nets session in 2013, with the Briton once claiming he had broken his ribs.
Lee added: “He’s raring to go on Friday. Nothing changes for us. He still hosts, still calls, still does all the Howie stuff that he does and the great work that he does.
‘He may have patched up a bit, like Rick McCosker, but he took it like a trooper and is 100 per cent stronger than some of the batsmen I bowled to.’