Watch: Australian cricket great leaves TV commentator needing STITCHES as he suffers horror facial injury while filming ‘bowling challenge’

Aussie Cricketing legend Brett Lee has left Fox presenter Mark Howard needing stitches after the pair were involved in a freak accident while filming a promotional video at Sydney University.

According to The Advertiser, Howard had been keeping wicket when Lee produced a cannon of a delivery that took one of the bails off the stumps.

In a bizarre turn of events, the Aussie Test great dislodged one of the bails sending it flying towards the presenter, crouching behind the stumps.

The bail reportedly ‘became impaled in the television presenter’s head’, with blood streaming from his forehead covering the bail that had cut him open. 

He was subsequently sent to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where he was seen to by a cricket-loving doctor.   

‘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 said to The Advertiser.

‘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.

Brett Lee (left) left TV presenter Mark Howard (right) needing stitches this week after a freak bowling incident during a shoot

‘He was bleeding pretty badly.’

Thankfully, it appears Howard is OK following the incident, posing for a snap alongside Lee while pointing to the stitched-up wound on his forehead and admitted he would still be present on Fox Cricket for the first delivery of the second Test between India and Australia, which begins on Friday.

He added that if a scar appears on his forehead, he would wear the mark as a ‘badge of honour’ adding that he could say it was from legendary Aussie bowler Brett Lee. 

A couple of inches lower, though, and Howard could have been in danger of losing his eyesight.

Lee, meanwhile, was left aghast at the incident, claiming: ‘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.’

Despite being cracked in the head by the bail, Howard still managed to take thunderbolt delivery in his gloves, which he said he was ‘happy’ about.

‘It was in a million to happen. I’m glad it didn’t hit me in the eye. He [Lee] 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.’

He added: ‘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.’

Over the years, Lee has claimed several victims from his pacey bowling, including UK journalist Piers Morgan. The Aussie cricketer had hit the UK TV star during a nets session in 2013, which the Brit once claimed fractured his ribs. 

Lee added: ‘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.

‘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.’