Fresh from destroying England with a scorching display of fast, swinging yorkers that skittled stumps all over Lord's to help Australia seal a series-clinching 4-0 lead with three ODIs remaining, Lee declared his goal of breaking the 100mph (160.93km/h) barrier. That feat would be worth a fair sum for a paceman who has already earned $US3million in the past 12 months, according to Forbes magazine, the compiler of various rich lists.

Lee's earnings pale in comparison to Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni however, with the wicketkeeper-batsman becoming cricket's first $US10m man. Forbes estimated the players' earnings through their central and Indian Premier League contracts and endorsement deals, which for Dhoni outweighs many US athletes.

Lee (equal-eighth), captain Ricky Ponting (equal-sixth) and vice-captain Michael Clarke (10th) are the only Australians on the list dominated by India's stars.

Lee could not force his way back into the side for the Ashes series and his Test future remains unclear but the 32-year-old remains far more marketable than his bowling peers.

Eleven bowlers are ranked ahead of Lee in the Test arena at present, while 19 top him in the one-day format, yet none of them can match his pulling power with sponsors.

The combination of blond-haired, blue-eyed good looks and sheer speed is an irresistible combination for some brands. Lee's dream of breaking the magical 100mph barrier will likely have more companies interested.

To date, only Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar has broken the 100mph limit, clocking 100.2mph (161.3km/h) during a World Cup match against England in 2003. Lee's fastest delivery was recorded at 99.8mph (160.7km/h) at the same tournament.

''I know I'm in the team to try and bowl fast, there's always talk about your age but I'm feeling really fit, probably the fittest I've ever felt,'' Lee said after taking 5-49 at Lord's on Saturday, clean-bowling four victims. ''I'm only 32 and I want to keep bowling in excess of 90mph for a long time yet but we'll wait and see what happens with the body.

''I've bowled 160km/h a few times over the last couple of seasons, but I'm really happy with the way the pace is going. We all know from a medical and technical point of view that you don't reach your best speeds until playing about two months of solid cricket.''

The Forbes list is made up of eight batsmen, all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and Lee, but none of the current top-five ranked Test batsmen - Kumar Sangakkara, Gautam Gambhir, Mahela Jayawardene, Shivnarine Chanderpaul or Mohammad Yousuf - appear.

The top 10 cricket earners

1 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India) $11.56m

2 Sachin Tendulkar (India) $9.24m

3 Yuvraj Singh (India) $6.36m

4 Rahul Dravid (India) $5.78m

5 Andrew Flintoff (England) $4.62m

6 Sourav Ganguly (India) $4.04m

6 Ricky Ponting (Australia) $4.04m

8 Brett Lee (Australia) $3.47m

8 Kevin Pietersen (England) $3.47m

10 Michael Clarke (Australia) $2.89m

Link...