MELBOURNE: Australian fast bowler Brett Lee is poised to unleash months of pent up frustration on the Black Caps in the opening Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series one-day cricket match at the Telstra Dome tomorrow.
Lee, who has occupied the 12th man spot in the test side for a number of months, takes the place of veteran paceman Glenn McGrath who is being given a rest.
McGrath, the man of the series in the world champions' Trans-Tasman Trophy whitewash of New Zealand, is not in Melbourne with the 14-man squad.
The 34-year-old will rest for an extra few days with his family before joining the squad in Sydney for Wednesday's second match.
The rest means McGrath (289) will have to wait to overtake Shane Warne (291) as his country's leading one-day wicket-taker, but the rotation policy means the underbowled Lee - who has not been able to force his way into the test line-up - will make a much-needed return to competitive cricket.
Lee played a tour match in India in October and took on the Black Caps for New South Wales in November but has appeared only once in tournament cricket this season, in the domestic ING Cup.
The 28-year-old, who was 12th man for both tests against New Zealand, has already declared himself the fittest he has been in years and can use these one-dayers to keep the pressure on selectors ahead of three tests against Pakistan.
Lee enjoys playing the Black Caps and with good reason.
He bagged five wickets for 42 runs in his last one-day outing against the Black Caps - in the World Cup Super Six match at Port Elizabeth in March last year.
The Australian side is named today after training and Australian captain Ricky Ponting was convinced Lee would be ready if given the nod.
"I've kept a close eye on him. He's raring to go and he's ready. The couple of times I've spoken to him he can't wait to get back in," Ponting said.