For Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, for whom there is no greater pride and joy than wearing his country's baggy green Test cap, the heartbreak of losing his place in the Test team is insufferable enough.
Future uncertain: Australia speedster Brett Lee
For Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, for whom there is no greater pride and joy than wearing his country'su00a0 baggy green Test cap, the heartbreak of losing his place in the Test team is insufferable enough.
Even more poignant is the personal matter of bringing up his young son Preston after the breakup of his marriage last year.
Having been away from home for monthsu00a0 with the Australian team in England, the Champions Trophy in South Africa and then India without being able to play as a result of injury, he regrets the time he has had to spend away from Preston.
Away from home
"Up to last week I'd spent two nights at home in close to nine months. That's a massive issue as well. I don't want to spend that time away from home ever again," he said at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday.
As he prepares to seek a "second and third opinion" for his lingering elbow injury, Lee admitted his future is uncertain amid talk that he may have played his last Test what with youngsters Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus earning their spurs in recent months.
"I still want to play cricket for Australia but it just depends on how theu00a0 operation goes, if that takes place, and how the fitness is and how much I want it," Lee said.
"To be totally honest I need to get away from the game for a little bit to work out what my future holds.
"If I don't play another game of cricket for Australia or another game of cricket ever again, yes I'm very pleased with what I have achieved.
"But I still think there's a lot of cricket left in me yet, which is why I'm not making a call about my future."
Twenty20 talk
Meanwhile, Lee's former pace bowling partner Jason Gillespie believes, like many others, thatu00a0 Lee may quit Test cricket to concentrate on the less taxing one-day and Twenty20 versions of the game.
And former Australia captain Mark Taylor is of the opinion that young Turks Johnson, Hilfenhaus and Siddle will come in the way of the 33-year old regaining his place in the Test side.
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