da prosport bet： BRISBANE – Australian captain Steve Waugh will tell Brett Lee to senddown his quickest deliveries against England at the Gabba on Thursday ifthe fast bowler retains his place in the bowling attack.
Michael Crutcher04-Nov-2002BRISBANE – Australian captain Steve Waugh will tell Brett Lee to senddown his quickest deliveries against England at the Gabba on Thursday ifthe fast bowler retains his place in the bowling attack.Lee and Queenslander Andrew Bichel will fight for the last bowling spotif paceman Jason Gillespie proves his fitness with a searching workoutin the Gabba nets today.Gillespie expects his injured calf muscle to be ready for the Ashesseries opener after bowling 10 overs for South Australia against NSW ina one-day match on Saturday.Selectors will have the final say on 12th man duties, weighing up Lee’smodest record in the last two seasons against Bichel’s hometownexperience and his impressive recent statistics.But Lee, who has averaged 38.55 in his 17 Tests since elbow surgery,should not foresake his pace as he tries to improve his controlaccording to Waugh.”Brett is a quick bowler and that’s what he does best and what he shoulddo,” Waugh said.”He’s naturally quick and when he bowls quick, bowls well, he bowls agood line. I’ve always encouraged him to be himself and that’s be aquick bowler.””It’s a tough decision for selectors and you have to get the best fromwhichever combination you go with.”Brett is an explosive bowler so he’s going to be bowling short spellswhile Bich has been used in longer spells.”But I’m not going to get into who is a better bowler or who is bestsuited.”The Australians will train for the first time at the Gabba today, withGillespie expected to complete only a light session before tomorrow’sdemanding workout.The South Australian has been dogged by bad luck in previous seasons andhe has played only one Test at the Gabba, taking three wickets againstNew Zealand last summer.He was a last-minute withdrawal against the West Indies two years ago,enabling Bichel to play in front of his home crowd for the first time.Waugh said Bichel was now a more complete bowler, picking up “a yard ofpace” since last season.England continues its preparations with the final day of its three-daytour match against Queensland at Allan Border Field.The tourists will resume at 1-106 in their first innings in reply toQueensland’s total of 582.