Rixon more than fielding coach - Lee

Little more than a week since Steve Rixon joined the Australian team, Brett Lee says he is already assuming a position far more influential than that of a mere fielding coach.

Australia's notable intensity in a pair of pre-season training camps at Allan Border Field in Brisbane is attributable to the team's current standing as a humble group with much to improve upon. But it has also been described as an indicator of Rixon's instant impact on the players since replacing Mike Young.

Lee, no longer a part of Test plans, has seen the drive and energy in evidence among the squad in Brisbane, as one-day and five-day exponents alike prepare for the task of visiting Sri Lanka. Familiar with Rixon during his dual stints as the coach of New South Wales, Lee said the former Australian wicketkeeper had quickly assumed the mantle of mentor.

"Steve Rixon has come in, not only as fielding coach but also as a bit of a mentor as well, and whatever Steve's touched in his life in coaching has turned to gold," Lee told ESPNcricinfo. "Think back to the 1990s with the Blues, what he's done with New Zealand cricket, ICL, IPL … everything he's worked with has turned to gold. I'm certainly enjoying having his presence here, working alongside Tim Nielsen and the rest of the coaching staff.

"It's not just his fielding [coaching], it's him in all facets with batting, bowling, playing a bit of a mentor role as well. This is not saying Steve's come in as our fielding coach and going to change things and revolutionise the game, because we're really happy with what Mike Young did.

"But it's something fresh, it's new, he's been around a long, long time, he knows his stuff and his record speaks for itself. So having him on board as a coach and a mentor as well, [allows] a lot of young guys can have a chat to him, and even the older guys can do the same."

Though Lee is an enthusiastic character, his ebullient description of training suggests that the advent of Rixon, the new bowling coach Craig McDermott and the fledgling captain Michael Clarke has begun to reinvigorate a set-up that looked outmatched and out-energised during the Ashes.

"I was saying to a few of the blokes, I haven't seen the Australian cricket team be this energetic for a long, long time, which really excites me," Lee said. "With the young guys coming into the side and having that raw energy, but also the inclusion of a guy like Steve Rixon, it has breathed a whole new lease of life into the Australian cricket set-up.

"The way he's going to work beautifully with Tim Nielsen, and with Craig McDermott coming on as the full-time bowling coach now and Justin Langer signed on for another 12 months, the way we've trained the sessions last week, it's like we're almost on a different level now. It's really exciting so I hope that keeps going.

"Certainly the way we've been fielding, running around, throwing ourselves around the field, with the way our sessions have been structured, guys are eager to get out there and bowl in the nets and work on different stuff and being hard upon ourselves.

"It's been absolute quality, rather than quantity. It hasn't been like we're going to have a 4-5 hour training session without a break. This has been about short, sharp sessions, so we've had two sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon with lunch at the ground, trying to get it as realistic to playing cricket as possible.

"While we've been doing our certain skills, whether it be batting or bowling, it's been full-on. Even in the nets we've been challenging ourselves against the best batsmen, the bowlers have been having competitions amongst ourselves, trying to get batsmen out, the fielding's been of pure quality, making sure we're holding our catches, making sure we're hitting the stumps. "

McDermott, too, has followed up on his promise to demand a more systematic approach from his bowlers, commanding them to prepare with purpose.

"I think it's about us being consummate professionals and that's something that McDermott was always known for," Lee said. "He was always the guy who would go about his business in a professional way and he has definitely brought that through in his coaching as well, and that's great when the sky is as high as we need to aim.

"If you've got guys who are just going about their business and turning up and not really doing what they should be doing then you're not going to improve as a player, but if you've got someone who wants to show you things, take you down a different path and enhance what you've already got but improve you. As any player gets older they're always learning new stuff, and even the day that Glenn [McGrath] hung his boots up, he was always working on new things."