Brett Lee today fired a warning to England's batsmen by claiming he was "100 per cent ready to go" for the Fourth Ashes Test at Headingley.
Lee missed the first three npower Tests due to a side injury and the tourists have badly missed his hostility and experience.
Even though Shane Watson was pessimistic about his team-mate's chances of a return, Lee was bowling at full pace in the nets at Headingley this morning and believes he has done enough to earn a recall.
He said: "I've been bowling for two weeks now and most days I've been doing it back-to-back. The pace felt really good today and I'm 100 per cent ready to go.
"Could I understand it if the selectors left me out? Not really. Hopefully I have done everything I can to prove I'm ready to go."
Watson, however, was quick to sound a note of caution about Lee's involvement, after suffering similar problems himself during his career.
Australia's new opening batsman expects vice-captain Michael Clarke to recover from an abdominal strain in time to play on Friday but he was more circumspect about Lee.
He said: "Brett wasn't nice to face in the nets and it was great to see him charging in but he is probably needs a game under his belt to be in contention for selection.
"I know that when I've been coming back from a side injury, you normally need at least one game before you can go into a really big match."
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If Lee misses out, he could feature in the two-day game against England Lions at Canterbury staring on 15 August, with the final Test at The Brit Oval due to begin five days later.
