Lee's participation cannot be ruled out - Ponting

Following Australia's humbling of New Zealand, Ricky Ponting has admitted that Brett Lee would have a tough time breaking into the side, but refused to rule him out of the rest of the tournament. He said there was a possibility Lee would play if Sri Lanka reached the semifinals.

Ponting was chuffed with his bowlers' performance in the virtual quarterfinal, where they shot out New Zealand for 198. AAP quoted him as saying: "All the fast bowlers did a fantastic job. It's going to make it a little bit tougher for Brett, but that's not ruling him out of a semifinal berth at all."

He said Australia would follow a horses-for-courses approach - a move that came under fire when it was first initiated, but is now applied regularly. "We're going to pick teams throughout this tournament that are going to suit the conditions and the opposition," said Ponting. "If we play Sri Lanka, Brett has a very good record against them. It's well known they don't like the pace and bounce too much, so he'll come back into [our] calculations. So there's no way, shape, or form he's ruled out of that side."

But figures tell a different story. In nine games Lee has dismissed 12 batsmen, but his pace and bounce have worked against him. The wickets have come at an average of 29.66, and Lee has conceded runs at the rate of nearly five an over.