It's a world of sports wherein tales of miraculous recoveries by sports persons against all odds have become aplenty: Graeme Smith once playing with a broken hand, or Indian cricketing star Yuvraj Singh returning to the game after his fight against cancer. But perhaps the most astonishing story of all could be that of Harry Lee, an English cricketer who made his Test debut 15 years after he was presumed dead. Here is the fantastic story of Harry Lee that fewer than a handful of people are aware of. Harry Lee and the Influence of World War I The year was 1915, and there was the First World War running across the world-more so in Europe. A more troublesome time than that which was passing by could not have been experienced by man-with thousands of lives being lost each day in a way which the world had never seen before. But what does this have to do with a cricketer? The answer to that lies in the life of Harry Lee. Harry Lee was born in 1890 and was the eldest son of his family. From the tender age of childhood, he was deeply interested in cricket and wished to play at Middlesex County one day. He even wrote to the cricket club saying he was in search of work at Lord's Cricket Ground as ground staff. After doing some hard work, he found a place in Middlesex Under-19 and became a regular player by 1914. It was in the year 1914 when Britain called upon its young citizens to join the army and serve the country. Many felt that it was better to face the dangers of war than be killed at home in a bomb blast. Although he had never been interested in military service, later he enlisted when some British Territorial Forces marched through London. Lee's Miraculous Survival By the time of the war, Lee was commissioned to the 13th Battalion. In one fierce battle with the German army, he was badly wounded, and his body was never found. Because as many as 499 British soldiers were massacred in that battle, it was presumed that Lee was killed, and his parents even held a memorial ceremony for him. Against all expectations, however, Lee was alive. He had taken a shot in the left thigh and survived. He somehow stumbled his way back to England. The doctors told him that his muscles were so badly damaged that one of his legs would always be shorter than the other. Also Read | Top 10 Players With Best Cover Drives in Cricket Harry Lee's Return to Domestic Cricket and His Test Debut Image Source: ESPNcricinfo The Middlesex Cricket Club supported his recovery despite his injuries. His cricketing career, as it seemed, was over and yet again Lee surprised everyone with a comeback to play for Middlesex. He toiled in domestic cricket for the next 15 years, gradually building up his career. In 1930, England toured South Africa, but injuries deprived them of several first-rank players, including four of the six selected for the winter tour. One of those summoned as a replacement was Harry Lee. Three games into the series, with England losing 0-1, the selectors played Lee in the fourth. Fifteen years after being officially certified dead, Harry Lee lived his boyhood dream when he played a Test match representing England. The left-handed batsman opened the batting, managing 18 and 1 in his two innings. Never again to don Test whites, Lee's odyssey from presumed death to the international arena remains one of the most fantastic tales ever told in the cricket world. Also Read | Top 10 Iconic Spinners in Cricket’s Glorious History