da apostebet： TAUNTON, England – Brett Lee’s chances of being available for the secondAshes Test at Lord’s improved out of sight today when he bowled twice inthe nets at the County Ground without discomfort
Will Swanton16-Jul-2001TAUNTON, England – Brett Lee’s chances of being available for the secondAshes Test at Lord’s improved out of sight today when he bowled twice inthe nets at the County Ground without discomfort.Lee, recovering from inflamed tissue at the base of his rib cage, bowledabout 40 balls off a short run before play on the final day ofAustralia’s match against Somerset, won by the tourists by 176 runs.That was supposed to be the extent of his work ahead of a more intensivesession at Lord’s tomorrow, but team physiotherapist Errol Alcott wasencouraged enough to give him another workout after stumps.Lee used a longer run and bowled sharply to Australian captain SteveWaugh, who was having his first hit after spending the last week inLondon with his wife, Lynette, and two young children.”We checked him out after a light session this morning and Binger [Lee]felt fine with no ill effects,” said Alcott.”He felt so good, and we were so confident, that we gave him anothersession in the afternoon, and he bowled another six overs.”We’re pretty happy with his progress – we’ve just been progressing hisrehabilitation one step at a time and he’s gone through each stageculminating in today with his bowling.”Lee’s improved physical state is only stage one of him gaining selectionfor the Lord’s Test starting on Thursday.Provided he gets through tomorrow’s session, starting at 9am (6pm AEST),without any physical problem, he then has to earn a place ahead ofVictorian swing and seam merchant Damien Fleming.Fleming was named man of the match for his eight-wicket haul againstSomerset, and Lord’s – where Bob Massie swung the ball incrediblelengths to take 16 wickets in the second Test in 1972 – would be rightup his alley.”If it comes, it comes,” said Fleming.”If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”It was obviously a dream to get on this tour as a swing bowler and if Ican snaffle a Test match, it would be fantastic.”Stand-in Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Fleming had given theselection panel of Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Trevor Hohns food forthought.”It was good to see Flemmo get the wickets that he got,” he said.”He bowled beautifully on a very tough wicket – there wasn’t muchmovement, or any movement at all, off the wicket.”It did swing a little bit, but Flem got most of his wickets with theold ball so that meant he was building up enough pressure and puttingthe ball in the right areas enough times.”Lee wanted to play against Somerset but Alcott, mindful of Lee’s longand sorry history with injuries, urged caution and told him to withdraw.”I think we’ll probably wait as long as we can with Brett to make surethat he is right,” said Ponting.”He was very close to playing this game so I imagine he’ll be fit forthe game on Thursday.”Meanwhile, Michael Slater (wrist) is all but certain to be fit for theTest but Matthew Hayden (knee) looked a little ginger while having a runwith fitness coach Jock Campbell at Taunton.Hayden’s knee locked in the field on Friday and the fluid under the kneecap jeopardises his ability to play with confidence off the front foot.Both openers will be monitored closely at training.