It’s a routine that Australia’s ageing fast bowler has now got quite used to, as he joined the store long before he started his international career. But the customers — usually the first-timers — are far from being used to having one of the world’s most recognisable cricketing faces tend to their clothing needs. In the background, Richard Bowman and Melissa Allan — the joint owners of the store — try not to chuckle.

They have watched Lee grow up trading fabrics as fluently as he does bouncers in the world of cricket. But over the last decade or so, ever since he hurled down his first over in Test cricket against the Indians in 1999, Bowman and Allan have witnessed, with pride, Lee dealing with fame better than anyone else in his position could possibly have.

Unlike most of his team-mates from the Australian side or any of his sports colleagues in other parts of the world, Lee works at the store, earning his livelihood, when he is not touring or playing domestic matches for New South Wales. Sometimes, however, the dual lives cross over, with Lee working shifts during an ongoing international series — like a day before he underwent his fitness test to rejoin the Australia squad for the tri-series.

But right throughout, despite his highs and lows on the cricket field, the salesman’s job has been a reassuring constant in Lee’s life. And it all began on the day when he walked into the store in 1996 to get his blazer stitched by Bowman for the Under-19 tour to India. “When I went to measure them, most of the boys grabbed the clothing and threw it back at me. Only one of those 22 lads was very gracious. He said, ‘thank you very much sir,’ as he wore his blazer, returned the cloth carefully and introduced himself. ‘That was very kind of you sir, my name is Brett Lee,’ he said,” recalls Bowman.

The politeness won Bowman over. And very soon, as Lee describes in his autobiography My Life, he got his first job offer. “Not long after I finished school, I received a phone call from Richard Bowman. I remembered him straightaway because he’d fitted up the Australian Under-19 team for our tour of India. ‘I’m looking to hire a suit salesman and thought you might be interested,’ Richard said,” writes Lee in a book that finds space below his personal label at the store.

From working in a store to owning his own label — Brett Lee by Barclays — Lee has come a long way. But despite his name hanging on the suits, Lee continues to do every job that he did as a fresh-faced teenager all those years ago. “This job, as Brett always tells his friends, gave him significance outside of sport when he was just a kid, and helped him keep his feet on the ground. Even more so once he became a popular figure,” says Bowman.

Allan adds, “But that’s just the way Brett is. Always excited, always down to earth. He doesn’t have that superstar image about him. He continues to show us all how great it is to be an average Australian guy.”

So how good is Lee as a salesman? Bowman laughs. “He is authentic. Most people who walk into this store don’t even watch cricket. Yet, he can make a good sale on just recommendations. He doesn’t have to push for it. You have to be really good to make sales on recommendations, and Brett can do that. He’s a natural,” he says.

Lee writes: “Richard and Melissa, they taught me all the basics about sizes, fitting, fabrics, and sales techniques. Richard was supportive, he said I could have all the time off I needed to pursue my cricket career. I had found a fantastic job with a family-like atmosphere. I couldn’t believe my luck.”