Frustrated speedster-in-waiting Brett Lee is poised to get his Christmas wish early with selection in all three upcoming one-day matches against New Zealand.
Australia is set to rest their three front-line pacemen for a game each in the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy to give Lee the international action he's been craving the past two months.
The tearaway quick was the only other specialist bowler beyond Test trio Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz named in the 14-man Australian one-day squad for the series, starting on Sunday in Melbourne.
The only minor surprise was the selection of Test discard Simon Katich ahead of Ian Harvey in a squad that also includes incumbent batting all-rounders Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson.
West Australian spinning all-rounder Brad Hogg also returns after missing the last part of the unsuccessful ICC Champions Trophy campaign in England in September.
After a gruelling three months of touring, the Australian brains trust is keen to balance the workload of the quicks before next month's three-Test series against Pakistan.
Three one-day matches in five days, with only a six-day break before the first Test against Pakistan in Perth on December 16, puts the ball firmly in Lee's hand.
Coach John Buchanan said the Test 12th man was a certainty to play his first international since the Champions Trophy semi-final loss to England.
"We very, very much expect him to be playing two if not all three of the one-day matches to be a good lead-in to the Pakistan series," he told ABC radio.
Captain Ricky Ponting confirmed Lee would get his chance as McGrath, Gillespie and Kasprowicz would be rested in the unofficial rotation policy.
"We'll rest a couple of them at certain times," he told reporters after the 213-run second Test victory over NZ.
"We've got a squad of 14 so we'll hope to give the guys who have done a lot of the bowling and played a lot of cricket over the last couple of months an opportunity to have a couple of days away from the game.
"It's a frustrating time for (Lee) but he'll come through it and when he gets his chance I know he'll do well."
Chief selector Trevor Hohns said Harvey's niggling groin injury had them opt for Katich, dumped from the Test team after a commendable Indian tour.
"Simon Katich performed well in his return to ING Cup cricket and deserves his place in the squad," Hohns said.
"He is a quality limited-overs batsman who can bat in a number of positions and also offers us some variety with his bowling.
"With Ian Harvey on his way back from injury, we felt it was important to give him some more time at state level before considering him for international duties.
The Chappell-Hadlee Trophy will conclude on December 10 in Brisbane after a second match at the SCG on December 8.