Lee back in the fold

Brett Lee, who was savaged by India's batsmen in the recently concluded 3 Test series, has been recalled to the squad for the VB Series match against Zimbabwe at the Bellerive Oval on Friday (starting 2300 GMT Thursday). Brad Hogg also gets a look in, with Jason Gillespie and Ian Harvey being rested for the game.

Lee took eight wickets in two Tests against India, but they came at a cost of 59.5 apiece. In the first innings at Sydney, he went for 201, the first genuinely fast bowler to suffer such an indignity in the game's history. Ricky Ponting, who has led Australia to victories in their first two games of the tri-nation tournament, reckoned that Lee was now ready to set the record straight.

"He probably wasn't bowling well a couple of weeks ago and that's why we decided to give him a rest," said Ponting. "I think he was a bit tired, which was hindering the way he could bowl and the way he could perform, so we've given him a bit of time to recover and I'm sure you'll see him perform better over the next couple of weeks."

The decision to rest Gillespie was no surprise, given the load he has had to shoulder since coming back from a calf injury for the Sydney Test. With Brad Williams in splendid form, Australia clearly fancy their chances of knocking over Zimbabwe, even with their premier fast bowler on the sidelines.

"Jason's been up for a while, played a fair bit of cricket and is bowling well at the moment, and with the tournament the way it is at the moment, it just presented itself to give him a bit of a rest," said Ponting. Zimbabwe's top order will need to show a great deal more skill and pluck if they are to take advantage of his absence.

Australia squad Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg, Andy Bichel, Brett Lee, Brad Williams.