The other Lee of international cricket, he bats and bowls left-handed, and doesn’t earn an instant recall. But in medical circles, Lee Carseldine is famous, and sometimes referred to as the “miracle man”.

The Australian all-rounder suffered a serious back injury in 2004, and things reached a stage where he was completely bedridden, unable even to walk. Doctors told him that he would need to undergo surgery, and would never be able to play cricket again. “The back injury was very tough and it just wasn’t getting fixed. I was in heavy pain and it threatened me from leading a normal life. Experts said surgery could help but my cricket would be over. I couldn’t take that advice lightly because it was a question of my health,” Carseldine told The Indian Express on Monday.

Then, after he went through the operation — with a steel rod and screws fitted in his spine — he suffered a post-op infection that left his lower back and hips completely immobile for a few weeks. “After a while, my back felt fine but I was missing cricket. So I started playing some club matches, and since I enjoyed some success, slowly my confidence returned and I wanted some bigger cricket,” said Carseldine, who was out of serious cricket for almost three years.

“I don’t know if I’m the bravest man in cricket. But from where I was, to start playing cricket again... doctors called me up to say that it was a miracle according to their books. I was brave in not giving up hope, in picking up the bat after all that had happened,” he added after a hectic training session. Even now, he has a titanium box inserted in his spine for support.

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