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International Cricket

Aussie pacer Brett Lee may be a veteran but his hunger to take wickets is still as vibrant as it used to be when he started his career.

Even at 32, he is not just looking to pile up more wickets against his name but is also ready to fight a fierce battle with a youngster for a place in the Australian team.

"Johnson going from strength to strength"

After being at the sidelines for more than a year, the speedster started to get into the groove with successful outings during the Australia-England seven-match ODI series, followed by the recently concluded ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

As Lee puts it with his typical innocent smile, "I am certainly trying my hardest at the moment and I want to be a part of the Australian Test team in Brisbane. I am working hard on my fitness. I still have the hunger at 30. I always judge my body on my speed. But it all depends on how I fare in the upcoming tournaments - the Champions League T20, followed by the seven-match ODI series against India.

However, Lee made it clear that he won't cut down on his pace to prolong his career.

"I will never bowl outswingers at 130 kph. I love bowling fast and it means a lot to me to be the world's fastest bowler. And I am not going to compromise on that aspect. If it happens that I am not able to go at 150 kph, then I will think of a plan B," said Lee, who could not play in Ashes 2009 due to a rib injury.

As far as Australian bowling department is concerned, Lee feels that experience coupled with some young blood, is slowing turning it into a comprehensive unit.

"Mitchell Johnson is one guy, who is going from strength to strength and the others boys are also developing well as bowlers, so I think we have got a good mix of experience as well as the youth coming together. I would say that there is great depth."

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Elaborating on the changing trends of fast bowling in cricket with batsmen becoming more dominant by the day, Lee explained, "Fast bowling is the toughest job in cricket but is the most satisfying at the same time. The wickets these days are conducive for fast bowling."

Lee, who is India to play for New South Wales in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, is raring to go.

"We are not playing against the traditional sides, so there is going to be a lot of research involved. But basically, we would like to concentrate on our strengths and weaknesses. We have got a good side with a lot of Australian national team players in it."

Lee also has the upcoming ODI series in India at the back of his mind, as he goes into the CL T20.

"It's going to be a tough tour. It is always very challenging to play in India and a seven-match series is always huge. Australia-India play pretty competitive cricket and hence, it will be exciting. No doubt that It would be a great tour but surely a tough one."

Talking about the India-Australia rivalry, Lee said the aggression is limited to the field only.

"We love touring India"

"We go hard at each other as soon as we cross that white line but after the game is over, we are friends. We as a team love touring India," said Lee.

Lee agrees that the fact that Australia emerged victorious against England in one-dayers and the ICC Champions Trophy a few days ago, have given them enough confidence.

"I was very impressed with the way Australia played in the Champions Trophy in South Africa. We played decent cricket and played our best in the last match. It was a great moment for us to win the Champions Trophy," he said.

Lee was also all praise for his captain Ricky Ponting, who faced much criticism after Aussies series of losses, including the Ashes loss to England.

"When a team loses, the captain is blamed and when a team wins, the captain is the first person who is praised. But we as players always back our captain. And as usual, we as a team will always stand by Ponting. He is a great captain as well as a player. He has nothing more to prove to anybody."

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