'We'd like to do it for Steve' - Brett Lee

According to Brett Lee, Australia's cricketers will go all out to win their forthcoming Test series in India so that they can dedicate it to Steve Waugh, who led them to the pinnacle of the world game under his captaincy without ever conquering what some referred to as the "final frontier".

"We'd like to do it for Steve," said Lee, who was in New Delhi doing some promotion for Timex watches. Until the selectors forced his hand before the home series against India last year, Waugh had harboured ambitions of coming to India, and blotting out the one blot on his copybook.

Lee is currently recovering from ankle surgery, which forced him to miss the Test series in Sri Lanka, and he said that he had played with the fracture since last October: "I actually played against India and Sri Lanka with a fractured ankle."

As for the Indian challenge, Lee was clear what the Australians would have to focus on. "Playing spin well in Indian conditions, that's going to be tough," he said. "Bowling to the Indian batsmen will also be tough."

Lee sympathised with those Australian cricketers who have to make the trip to Zimbabwe later this month. "Stuart MacGill made a big statement when he opted out of the tour," he said. "I applaud him. At the same time, there's a flip-side to it. I'm lucky I don't have to take a decision as I'm not in the team."