Fast pitch favours Lee

Brett Lee: has New Zealand's batsmen in his sights © Getty Images

Comments from Chris Lewis, the curator at Christchurch, that the pitch for Thursday's first Test between New Zealand and Australia will favour fast bowlers will boost Brett Lee's chances of playing.

Lewis said that the drop-in pitch would be hard and fast, which will be ideal for Lee who clocked 160.8 kph in the final one-day at Napier at the weekend. Lee is vying with Mike Kasprowicz for the final place in the side.

Kasprowicz has taken 47 wickets at 23.74 in 13 Tests since being recalled for the tour to Sri Lanka last year, while Lee hasn't played a Test in 14 months. But Lee's out-and-out pace makes him the favourite.

"I feel like I can go a bit quicker," Lee told the Sydney Morning Herald, while admitting that speed was not the be all and end all. "I've just been concentrating on that line and length and doing what Glenn [McGrath] does so well, knowing I've got a lot more in the tank. There are certain times in your life when it all clicks, it all feels right.

"If Thursday comes and I don't get the call, I'm 12th man or 13th man, I'll be disappointed, but I'll have to go back and maybe work on something else. I'll do whatever it takes to get back into the team.

"I think I'm at the stage where I think, personally, I'm bowling the best I ever have. I'm confident bowling now, I know what I'm doing and I'm working to a plan. I'm not just running in and letting the ball go. I'm working in conjunction with what Ricky Ponting wants."

And Ponting hinted that Lee was the favourite when he described him as being "fairly irresistible at the moment."