- Lee played 76 Tests and took 310 wickets
- Is now a popular voice on the commentary team
- Revealed one of the great secrets of the SCG
Australian bowling gun Brett Lee has revealed one of the biggest secrets in Test cricket, a secret room at the SCG that only legends of the game are allowed to enter.
Lee, 47, made his debut for the Australian Test side against India at the MCG in 1999 and went on to take 310 Test wickets in 76 matches.
As Lee traveled the world, one of the most eye-opening experiences was at the SCG, where he was brought into the inner sanctum of Australian cricket.
Speaking on the Hello Sport podcast, Lee revealed the top-secret cellar at the Sydney venue, which has been a safe haven for Test players since Bradman brandished the Willow more than 70 years ago.
Lee was a formidable fast bowler who took 310 Test wickets in a career spanning 76 Tests
Now 47, Lee has revealed the SCG's secret basement where Test players go to share a drink
“A lot of people at the Sydney Cricket Ground don't know – (I'm giving away a little bit of inside information here),” Lee told the podcast hosts.
“That inner sanctum where we feel comfortable, where there is no press, where we can relax and just speak honestly and openly.”
There was even a secret knock on the secret cellar to gain access.
'After the Test win at the SCG, the tradition is to get a cricket bat and tap it three times on the ground.
'Then a few minutes later you hear thump thump thump, someone from down in the basement, which means: come down to the basement.
“So you walk underneath the Australian players' changing rooms, opposite where the race is taking place and there's a little garage door.
“You walk in and it's (small), so we think it's Justin Langer's house because he fits in beautifully. And there's a door signed by every Test cricketer, I think since the 1950s.
“And it's a basement. So beer and wine, go over there and have a chat with some of the ground crew and have a cold beer with them.”
Lee said there were autographs of players from Don Bradman's era in the secret basement
Steve Waugh captained perhaps Australia's greatest ever Test side and his name is also on the cellar door
Modern greats like Steve Smith continue the tradition carried on by the legends of the sport at the SCG
Lee spoke of his pride in being included in the time-honored tradition in the basement during his early years in the sport.
“I thought, 'How good is this Test cricket stuff' and the tradition, knowing the likes of Bradman have done it, the Allan Borders, the Merv Hughes, legends of the game,” he said.
'I probably shouldn't say too much about this. (The three taps indicate) we are thirsty!
'That was a pinch moment. I look around and I've got Steve and Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath.
“And here I am in the secret basement with my heroes that I watched growing up and are now teammates.”