It’s a very proud moment for me: Lee

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: October 24, 2009

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Hyderabad: Cricket has always been and is a team sport. Until and unless the entire team puts in the required efforts, it’s difficult for a team to succeed in this game. But one man can very proudly say that he singlehandedly won one of the most important tournaments for his team — Brett Lee.

Engineer of New South Wales’ Champions League Twenty20 win, Australian speedster Lee said after the match that he always strives to rise to the big occasions and is immensely satisfied to have performed the way he did in Friday’s final against the till then undefeated Trinidad and Tobago. Lee, who walked away with both the Man of the Match and the Man of the series awards, has always been a big match player and he said that he lives for moments like these.

“I think my game is coming up well and I’m enjoying it. I live for special moments like this and want to do well in big moments. When the crowd gets behind me, it becomes special and I’m happy I did well tonight,” said the pacer.

Lee came into bat with the NSW tottering at 83 for 6 but he played a brilliant knock scoring 48 off just 31 balls. He said that 130-140 would have been a defendable total in the final and to get near the 160-mark was a bonus. “I was trying to closely watch the balls. I knew if I stuck around we’d get some runs. We aimed at 130-140 but got 160 on the board which was quite defendable,” said the pacer.

Victorius NSW captain Simon Katich described it as a “very proud moment” but was gracious enough to praise the opponents. “It’s a very proud moment. Congratulations to T&T, who showed what they’re worth. Thanks for a great final,” he said.

Crediting Lee and Steven Smith, who hit a defiant 33, for propping up the side, Katich said the team raised their game when defending the total. “Brett Lee and Steven Smith were great with the bat and then everyone chipped in. We created opportunities and the guys fielded brilliantly. The opportunity to play on the world stage has been fantastic. It’s been invaluable for the young guys,” he said.

T&T skipper Darren Ganga conceded NSW played better cricket on the night but was proud of his own team’s show throughout the tournament. “It was a good run for us and all credit to NSW. We cracked under pressure. A lot people are disappointed but that is how it goes,” Ganga said.

“A lot of people back home are proud of us. Thanks to the Indian fans for supporting us. We have memories of the support and the fans and this will make a huge difference to the guys, and will inspire many players back in the Caribbean,” he added.

Champions League Commissioner and Chairman Lalit Modi also thanked the teams and crowds but he was tight-lipped when asked where the second edition of the Champions League would take place. “The Governing Council will meet in December to decide that,” he said.

NSW pocketed a whopping USD 2.5 million cheque for winning the tournament, while T&T were richer by USD 1.3 millions. Losing semifinalists Victoria Bushrangers and Cape Cobras earned a cool USD 500,000 each.

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