Ashes 2013: Piers Morgan faces fast balls from Brett Lee 'I am about to ruin a cricket legend': Piers Morgan faces one of Australia's fastest bowlers... and ends up battered, bruised and flat on his back Ex-tabloid editor squared up to Brett Lee at Melbourne Cricket Ground Morgan faced six balls during tea break on second day of fourth Test match between England and Australia 48-year-old Morgan tweeted afterwards: 'Cracked wrist, bruised rib and massive egg on back of head' By Adam Shergold and Nick Enoch He's a former tabloid editor, talent show judge and now U.S. TV anchorman - but today Piers Morgan faced a new challenge: being on the receiving end of one of cricket's fastest bowlers. And what a spectacle it was for the packed crowd at Melbourne Cricket Ground, as he fell flat on his back while balls hit him at lightning speed. Taking a break from hosting his CNN talkshow, the 48-year-old was in town for the fourth Test match of the Ashes - which has seen England lose the first three of the five-game series to Australia. An outspoken critic of his homeland's efforts, Morgan hoped to restore some pride by surviving six balls in the nets from Aussie legend Brett Lee during the tea break on the second day of the match. Piers Morgan today squared up against Australian Brett Lee - one of cricket's fastest bowlers Floored! TV presenter Piers Morgan falls to the ground as he attempts to play a fast delivery from the former Australian bowler during the tea interval at the fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne Challenge: Morgan, who presents a show on American network CNN, was dared to face an over from Lee Steaming in: Lee runs up to bowl in the nets adjacent to the Melbourne Cricket Ground as a huge crowd watches Get out of the way! Morgan ducks away as the ball spins towards him As Morgan stood before the stumps in his protective gear, he boasted: 'I'm about to ruin a great Australian legend.' With that, Lee unleashed the first ball, hitting the batsman in the chest. As the crowd gasped, Morgan exclaimed: 'Didn't feel a thing.' The second ball came, sending the Brit reeling backwards - at which point one of the commentators joked: 'The Australian team doctor is here. Do you need him? Warning: video contains graphic language Sticking the boot in: Brett Lee took to Twitter afterwards to mock his adversary Taking guard: Morgan prepares to face the first of Lee's deliveries Sledging: Morgan waves his bat at Lee and challenges him to do better after the first ball Morgan declined the offer, as the third then fourth ball came at him - and in each case, he failed to hit them. Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan, who was at the ground, said of Morgan: 'Technically, he's all over the place. Stay in the line, stay in the crease. Why he's coming closer, I don't know.' Although the fifth ball hit the wicket, it was deemed a no-ball; one more followed; and then it was over. Speaking after the innings, Morgan cheekily described Lee as 'a bit quicker than I thought he'd be for his age'. Addressing his sons, who had watched the action, Morgan added: 'Boys, you still have a father. I don't know if that makes you happy or not, but I'm alive. To my CNN president. I am alilve and I'll be back in January. I'm not quitting this tour and I'm available for selection.' Former Australian player Dean Jones posted this picture of Morgan's bruises afterwards as Brett Lee inspects the damage he caused Bowled! Lee celebrates after taking out Morgan's leg stump with the fifth ball of the over Survived: Morgan gets a hug from Australian ex-international cricketer Shane Warne while Lee laughs after the end of the challenge Well played: Lee and Morgan shake hands at the end In typically bullish style, Morgan had sledged (a cricket term for light-hearted intimidation) his adversary on Twitter beforehand, adopting the hashtag #MonsoonMorgan. He wrote: 'So @BrettLee_58' says 99% of his balls today will be 'short stuff'. Excellent Obviously hasn't seen my pull/hook shots. #MonsoonMorgan' Morgan later added: 'Need some fielders for the @BrettLee_58 showdown - one on the boundary, one on the roof, one in the street. @MCG' Despite being battered and bruised, Morgan also claimed afterwards that the warm-up bowler posed a tougher challenge. He tweeted: 'Full injury list post @BrettLee~_58 showdown - cracked wrist, bruised rib, and massive egg on back of head from... the throw-down guy.' Inspecting the damage: Morgan was struck on the arm by one of the Lee balls Mocking: Morgan later took to Twitter to claim that his injuries had been caused by the warm-up bowler Illegal: Morgan also claimed that all of Lee's deliveries were no-balls And as he returned to watch the evening session of the match, he added: 'For the record, I didn't actually see a single one of @BrettLee_58 's deliveries. But I felt 4 of them crashing into my flesh. Though he lacked the technical ability to back up his earlier boasts, Morgan drew praise from Channel 9 presenters Mark Nicholas, Vaughan and former Australian spinner Shane Warne as he faced the searingly quick deliveries. Warne praised his 'courage', particularly in goading Lee in between every ball. And not one to leave the final word to someone else, Morgan later tweeted: 'Also for the record, @BrettLee_58 bowled 6 (big) no-balls and 5 bouncers. Otherwise, I'd have battered him.' Coming for you: Former England captain and Channel 9 TV presenter Michael Vaughan posted this picture of Brett Lee before the challenge Ominous: Lee sent Morgan this photo on Twitter, prompting the presenter to call him 'Tintin' Warning: Morgan tweeted that he was hungry for runs before arriving at the MCG nets Any advice? Morgan takes some tips from former Australian spinner Warne