Brett Lee thunderbolt sends Mark Howard to hospital, adds Fox Cricket host to list of victims

Former Australian express pace bowler Brett Lee has claimed another victim, this time with Fox Cricket host Mark Howard sent to hospital. WATCH THE VISION INSIDE

Rick McCosker eat your heart out.

Cricket has a new hard yakka hero, with Mark Howard to front Fox’s Test coverage of the second Test on Friday despite being hospitalised by a Brett Lee thunderbolt.

This masthead can reveal popular host Howard was wicketkeeping to Lee at a promotional video shoot on Wednesday in Sydney when a bail became “impaled” in his head following a freak accident.

Lee, a fellow Fox Cricket commentator, said never in his nearly three decades in professional cricket had he seen an incident like it – with blood streaming out of Howard’s face and drenching the end of the bail that split him open.

“We were filming today, doing a bowling challenge. I bowled a ball, it went through the top of off, Howie was keeping, he’s caught the ball and I’ve heard two noises,” Lee told this masthead.

Brett Lee is one of the world’s fastest-ever bowlers.

“I’ve seen him hunched over and I thought, ‘geez, what’s happened,’ and I’ve realised the bail has flown through and impaled him right in the middle of the head and there was claret everywhere.

“He was bleeding pretty badly.

“But in all my years playing cricket at a professional level, I’ve never seen a bail travel that quick or that fast.

“It was a one in a million chance of it happening and I think the bail hit him first before he caught the ball, which means it must have literally hit the top of off stump.”

The incident occurred at Sydney University and Howard was swiftly rushed up to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital around the corner where he was stitched up by a cricket-loving doctor glad to be treating a Brett Lee victim.

Brett Lee holds the bail which collected Mark Howard, and left the presenter needing stitches. Picture: Kayo Sports

Lee said Howard will be the first face seen when Fox Cricket’s coverage of the second Test of the Border Gavaskar kicks off from Adelaide on Friday, even if the make-up artists have to work a bit harder.

In fact, Howard was back on set at the promotional shoot an hour and a half later after being whisked through emergency.

“He’ll be raring to go come Friday. Nothing changes for us. He’s still hosting, still calling, still doing all the Howie stuff he does and the great job that he does,” Lee said.

“He might be a bit patched up like Rick McCosker, but he took it like a trooper and is tougher than some of the batsmen I bowled to, 100 per cent.”

Mark Howard's head after getting stitches.

Lee famously hit UK TV host Piers Morgan in a televised net session back in 2013 at the MCG and the ferocious quick once broke Brendon McCullum’s nose in a Big Bash game.

Howard is the latest to wear a blow – albeit inadvertent – from one of the greatest and quickest fast bowlers Australia has ever produced. AFL great Jonathan Brown was also on the set.

Former South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher lost his lens, iris and pupil in his left eye back in 2012 after being struck in the eye by a bail.

Howard was feeling a little lucky the bail had hit him just above his eye but was still nursing a headache as he made his way to Adelaide.

One of the great moments in cricket programming, when Brett Lee unleashed his thunderbolts at Piers Morgan in the MCG nets during the 2013 Ashes.

“It was in a million to happen. I’m glad it didn’t hit me in the eye. He was very concerned. There was blood everywhere and then there was a discussion, ‘no, no, definitely no ambulance’, but there was a hospital literally 200 metres up the road,” Howard said.

“They looked after me in there, they were fantastic at RPA.

“There was a very kind doctor who was a big cricket fan who was just excited that he was treating someone who got hit by Brett Lee, I think.

“Hopefully if there is a scar I can always say it was from Brett Lee which I think is a pretty good badge of honour.

“I might look a bit rough and ready in the shoot and probably a little bit at the Test match I would have thought.”

Mark Howard and Brett Lee are key members of the Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports broadcast team for the 2024-25 summer of cricket. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Howard said he was happy with the way he gloved the rapid Lee delivery, but somehow doesn’t think that’s what his Fox Cricket colleagues will focus on come Friday.

“With blood pouring out of my head, there were about four cameras there in 4K as there always is on Fox shoots, so Binga was pretty happy to show me the replay within about a minute of it happening. I had blood dripping out of my head while he was showing me the replay,” Howard said.

“I didn’t realise but I managed to take the ball in the gloves which I was happy.

“Binga was very compassionate and caring but he was very happy it was captured on so many cameras I think.

“I’ll be there for the first ball on Friday and no doubt I’ll be getting a lot of sympathy from my Fox Cricket commentary teammates. I’m sure it’ll get a fair run across the coverage unfortunately.”