Australian selectors have shown faith in Brett Lee and selected him for the ODI series against Pakistan. If one forgets the last year, Brett Lee is a very good fast bowler, a very dangerous fast bowler. True at times he has been taken to the cleaners by the Indians (during the 2003-04 tour to Australia), but then Sachin, Sehwag, Dravid and Laxman are supposed to. Lee is one of the fastest bowlers in the world, capable of bowling at 150 kmph and capable of running through sides.  

In Brett Lee’s absence due to injury, Mitchell Johnson has grown immensely to become the most feared bowler in the world. Johnson can also bowls at 150 kmph, can run through sides, and also send batsmen to hospital (Graeme Smith will testify for this). Simply put a batsman would be worried about facing him. So the prospect of fully fit Lee bowling in tandem with Johnson is simply mouth watering for cricket fans all over the world, but not so for the batsmen. 

[ad#ad-1]This new ball pair of Lee and Johnson has the potential to be a very lethal combination, the key word is potential. For no one knows if Brett Lee would be able to regain his peak form again or not. Even if he does, 2 bowlers are not enough to worry a top class batting side. The hallmark of the West Indies teams of 70s and the 80s were the four really fast bowlers. As a batsman you generally think that once the new ball bowlers are gone you can relax a bit, but this did not work against West Indies. Their first change bowlers were every bit dangerous as the opening bowlers. Australia also have couple of good ’support’ bowlers. Stuart Clark and Peter Siddle are the ideal candidates for third and fourth seamer roles. Clark simply keeps bowling that McGrath line and length all day long, keeping things very very quiet and picks up a few wickets here and there. Siddle also keeps things very quiet and hustles the batsmen. He keeps coming at good pace, has a lot of energy and always ready for a long spell. 

If all four guys are fit and even close to their peak form, then the Australian attack looks very good, and very dangerous. Only South Africa and India can rival them at the moment ( we will look into them another time) . Ashes looks to be safe with Australia for the moment!

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