Mumbai:

The agreement, initially for a period of one year, will see Lee flying to India in September 2003 to shoot advertising material and make select appearances. He will also be making appearances on behalf of Timex during the Australian visit to India in November 2003.

Lee had this to stay about the association: "It is a privilege to join hands with Timex Watches and to do so both in India and Australia, my home country. India is a personal favourite because the passion for cricket is at its highest here. This is very exciting for me. Also, Timex is known for sport, performance and an active lifestyle, some of the things that are important to me. I look forward to coming to India in September as part of the Timex team in their Billenium year."

Lee, one of the two truly express pace bowlers in the modern game, has electrified audiences around the cricket-watching world with his combination of athleticism, power, good looks and skill. His superb bowling in the 2003 World Cup was one of the high points of the tournament and played no small part in Australia''s eventual hoisting of the trophy.

Says Timex Watches regional director (South-Pacific) and managing director (India) Kapil Kapoor: "In the year when we are celebrating the Timex Billenium representing the sale of over 100 crore watches worldwide, we are also assisting in the search for India''s fastest pace bowlers. Having Brett Lee come aboard at this juncture is most exciting for us."

Lee has lately been ''the enforcer'' in the Australian team, and his strike rate of 125 wickets in 33 Tests and 133 wickets in 71 one-day internationals speaks for itself. Additionally, he has already notched up two Test half-centuries to his name. But it is more in his role as "game turner" that Lee is best known, his ability to turn a match on its head with a short, devastating spell of express pace bowling.

The agreement was brokered by IMG, Lee''s exclusive commercial representatives in the subcontinent. "It''s been a pleasure to bring one of the world''s best brands together with one of the true stars of world cricket. Accuracy, performance and good looks are just a few of the attributes shared by Timex and Brett — they are a great fit," says Ravi Krishnan, managing director, IMG/TWI India, and senior international vice-president, IMG.

The Timex brand has been at the top of the popularity and sales graph for decades now both in the US and Canada and in many places around the world. The Timex story dates all the way back to 1857 when it was established as Waterbury Clock Company. The first Timex wristwatch was introduced in 1950 and quickly became the generic name in the field. Timex has a multi-brand strategy ranging from the sporty and high-tech to the dressy. There are also a variety of watches in cool colours and shapes aimed at the young and hip.

While every Timex produced since then has retained the virtues of those early watches, in the intervening 50 years, the company has introduced a steady stream of technological advancements including:

• Ironman Triathlon, the first full-featured performance sports watch
• Indiglo night light, the unparalleled watch illumination system
• Data link, the first watch to interface with a personal computer
• Ironman Speed + Distance system, the first watch to use global positioning technology to accurately answer the questions: ''How far?'' and ''How Fast?''

Timex, headquartered in the US, is one of the world''s pre-eminent watch brands. It is the leading brand in the US and Canada and enjoys strong market positions in several other countries around the world. Timex has worldwide manufacturing, marketing and distribution facilities in order to service its global presence.

Recently, Timex celebrated its landmark achievement of selling a 1 billion watches worldwide. The Timex watch is the top seller in the US and Canada and is a brand valued and desired all over the world.