A sculpture of former Test batsman Darren 'Boof' Lehmann has been unveiled at the Adelaide Oval.
The bronze depicts Lehmann in attack mode, his bat raised after a straight drive.
The statue has been placed behind the members' stand on the ground's western side, a pitch length away from one of fast bowler Jason Gillespie.
Both were sculpted by Port Lincoln artist Ken Martin and financed by businessman Basil Sellers, the brother of former Test leg spinner Rex Sellers, as part of a series at ovals around the country.
The sculpture was unveiled by ABC commentator Jim Maxwell and SACA president Ian McLachlan before the start of day two of the fourth Test against India.
Lehmann says he is pleased with the likeness.
"I didn't know how I'd feel about it to be perfectly honest. It's a great honour and quite emotional when you think of what your life comes to, a statue in the great Adelaide Oval," he said.
Lehmann was born in Gawler north of Adelaide in 1970 and left school when he was 16 to work on the assembly line at Holden's Elizabeth car plant.
The stylish lefthander played most of his first-class cricket for the South Australian Redbacks and English county side Yorkshire.
He scored 11,622 runs for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield, a state record, and was one of five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2001.
He made his Test debut against India in 1998 but never quite managed to pin down a place in the team.
He scored five centuries in 27 Tests and four one-day international (ODI) centuries.
He currently coaches the Queensland Sheffield Shield and one-day sides and also the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.
Lehmann's career was not without controversy.
In 2003 he was banned for five ODIs for breaching the ICC's racial code as he was walking off after being dismissed in a game against Sri Lanka in Brisbane.
He was nicknamed 'Boof' because of his once great head of hair.
Tags: sculpture, cricket, adelaide-5000, sa First posted January 25, 2012 11:26:25
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