Wellington closes in on Brett Lee signing

BY MARK GEENTY

Brett Lee is a step closer to playing for Wellington but a scheduling clash could rob fans of a headline matchup with fellow Australian speedster Shaun Tait at the Basin Reserve on December 5.

Cricket Wellington chief executive Gavin Larsen is awaiting clearance from Cricket Australia this week before entering official talks with Lee, as Canterbury boss Lee Germon plays the same waiting game with Tait.

But New Zealand Cricket's domestic schedule, released on its website this week, has Wellington playing an opening weekend double-header at the Basin against Otago on December 4 and Canterbury on December 5. That clashes with Australian one-day matches involving Lee's New South Wales and Tait's South Australia on December 4.

Due to the clashes, the earliest Lee could grace the Basin Reserve would be the December 16 match against Auckland. He could potentially play six matches including the December 27 home match against Central Districts.

Larsen said Wellington had one or two leading players on their radar, and remained open to signing someone who wasn't available for the entire HRV Cup which runs until January 2.

"I'm still hoping it could happen by the end of the week. But until I get the all-clear [from CA], then that's when we start talking with player managers about the package," Larsen said.

Germon said Canterbury had withdrawn from the race to sign Lee but said Tait was in their sights.

Other Australians potentially on the shopping lists of the six major associations were Twenty20 specialists David Warner and Cameron White, and big-hitting Andrew Symonds, who has been linked with Northern Districts.

Lee's manager Neil Maxwell was still awaiting word from CA as his charge makes a bid to play at the World Cup next year.

"We haven't got into any formal discussions yet. As soon as we get permission, which I think will happen, we'll sort something out," Maxwell said.

Larsen was thrilled with the draw which sees two full rounds of Twenty20 matches, five of which are at the Basin. Leading Black Caps would be available after their mid- December return from India.

"It's an outstanding programme from our perspective. It could be an absolutely amazing month of cricket, if the sun shines and the teams have at least one high profile overseas player, coupled with the Black Caps being available for half the comp, you're going to see some exciting cricket."

Wellington, fifth last summer, drew 3000-plus crowds to their opening two Twenty20 matches but a potential gate takings bonanza was stymied by washouts.

The Plunket Shield starts on November 9, with Wellington facing Central Districts in Napier. Wellington's final match is a four-dayer in Dunedin from April 3-6. The 50-over competition starts on January 9 with Wellington playing Otago in Alexandra, with the final on February 13.

- © Fairfax NZ News