Brett Lee yesterday spoke of his frustration at becoming cricket's Mr Beam as captain Ricky Ponting made moves to short-circuit the problem.
Speaking for the first time about the beam ball he bowled to New Zealand's Brendon McCullum in the one-dayer at Wellington last week, Lee said he hoped it doesn't happen again.
And Ponting added that he may never bowl Lee at the death in greasy conditions again if he is in danger of losing control and bowling a beamer.
"It is obviously hard . . . it is not something I am proud of," Lee said after arriving in Perth for Friday's first Test against South Africa.
"It always seems to happen when we are bowling second with the dewy conditions. The ball was very slippery. I am not making any excuses but it is something it is pretty hard to do when you are running in at 156 km/h if you slightly get it wrong or slip. I was sliding up 40cm.
"It is a bit like a javelin thrower running in and throwing with sand shoes on a wet surface."
It is the fourth time Lee has been involved in beam ball controversies but there seems little doubt they are an accidental product of the conditions aligned to his low, slinging action and extreme pace which means he is more likely to lose control.
Ponting intends to speak to Lee privately to ensure he has left the bad night behind him. He finished with 1-85 off 10 overs.
"It really does affect him. You could see that by the ball he bowled next delivery how much it affects him," Ponting said.
"He's run in and bowled a bouncer that's gone over the batsman's head by a metre and a half. That goes to show how much he has been thinking about it. It's been in NZ most of the time and it's been when we've been bowling second at night.
"The first couple of times he had a lot of problems with his footing and even the other night when Daniel Vettori came out to bat I asked him to bowl around the wicket to take away his angles and he said, 'No, I can't, I'll just slip through the front crease'.
"I will have a chat to him because I know it affects him. It might be something I have to look at, not even bowling him at the end in those sort of conditions any more."
The high-bouncing Perth wicket should be the perfect tonic for Lee who claims he is 100 per cent after returning early from New Zealand for minor surgery on his nose.
His record at the WACA Ground (24 wickets at 24 in four Tests) is better than any other Australian venue and, bowling downwind in his current form, he should provide a formidable challenge for South Africa's rickety top order.
"It's conducive to fast bowling here but from all reports over the past few weeks, listening and chatting to a few people, it's really not as quick as what it has been over the past decade," Lee said.
"Length is probably the key over here as opposed to line. It's important to hit that right length, it's almost a fuller length over here."
Lee resisted the temptation to join the debate about the ICC's controversial crackdown on sledging on and off the field.
"I'd rather let my bowling do the talking. I always enjoy playing against South Africa, they are a really good bunch of guys to play against," he said.
- ROBERT CRADDOCK