Lee wants to entertain while winning

Australian fast bowler Brett Lee could hardly hide his excitement about being back in action when he called Twenty20 "three hours of the most amazing cricket". He will be spearheading Australia's attack in the ICC World Twenty20 after a seven-month layoff from the game.

The quartet of players Australia trooped out in front of the media in Johannesburg on Thursday - Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds and Lee - all indicated it was important to remember the 20-over game was all about entertaining the crowd.

"We need to make sure we adapt to this new tournament as quickly as possible but the most important thing is this event is attracting a different demographic to cricket," Lee said. "Bearing in mind that Australia haven't come here to finish second, third or fourth, Twenty20 is all about having fun with the crowd. It's three hours of the most amazing cricket with plenty of sixes."

Lee missed Australia's victorious World Cup campaign in the Caribbean after injuring his ankle ligaments during a training session in February and the ICC World Twenty20 provided the perfect opportunity for him to re-establish himself as a star on the global cricket stage.

"This tournament is a massive consolation for missing the World Cup, it's a real opportunity for me," Lee said. "I've been able to use the time off to concentrate purely on pre-season fitness and it was a good opportunity to give my body a bit of a rest from bowling. So I'm really happy with my fitness and the way I've been bowling. I'm champing at the bit."

Lee said it was also important to embrace the differences that Twenty20 has brought to the game. "Things like sitting on the boundary and not in the change rooms, teams having to swap change rooms straight after a match - we should embrace it as new and accept that things are done differently in Twenty20. The spectators like it and it brings us closer to them."

Lee indicated that he would not be looking to cut down on speed or bowl defensively in the tournament. "The aim is still to get ten wickets, no matter what form of the game," he said. "If you can get wickets early on, it's definitely going to dent the opposition's run-scoring.

"You need to keep the boundary-scoring down too, but you need a couple of guys who are around 150 kph, using their pace and getting the ball up in the spot. If the batsmen are going for big shots, it does mean you have a better chance of taking a wicket and it doesn't matter if it comes by knocking [down] the stumps or if it's caught on the boundary."

Australia are once again overflowing with batting power as they enter the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 as favourites, but Hussey, who had a disappointing World Cup with little opportunity to shine, said he was just chuffed to be part of a winning team.

"I actually thoroughly enjoyed the West Indies, it was just a pleasure to be with the team and see how well the top four batted and how well the bowlers executed our plans," Hussey said. "I probably won't get a lot of opportunity in this tournament either, but I'm really keen to play and get into a match situation again. I'm sick and tired of all the training."

Hussey said that Australia would have to rely on their natural instincts because they did not have much experience of Twenty20 cricket. "You can put a couple of tactical things in place, but it's best to just let your instincts take over and trust your skills," he said.

"We haven't played much of this format of cricket, so we'll need to get our skills up. But we are all very experienced cricketers who know our games very well and we don't rely on one or two key players - we have match-winners all the way through the squad."