Former Cricketers Brett Lee, Mike Hussey Leave Channel Nine

Former cricketers Brett Lee and Mike Hussey "have parted company with Channel Nine on the eve of the summer," according to Ben Horne of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. The former Australian teammates "have formed a key component of the commentary team over recent years," but will not feature in a "new-look line-up" that is headed up by former Test captain Michael Clarke. It is understood Nine is "also in discussions with retired greats Kevin Pietersen and Waqar Younis to potentially make specialist commentary appearances throughout two bumper Test series" against South Africa and Pakistan. Lee and Hussey "were part of the new generation of callers to come through at Nine." Nine claims they were not "pushed." Despite their "consistently strong ratings, Channel Nine’s famous commentary team has been put under the microscope in recent summers," particularly after the "big splash" made by Ten’s "acclaimed coverage" of the Big Bash League (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/13).