Australia paceman Brett Lee has been told to reject the chance to play for a county in England this year if he wants a place on the Ashes tour.
Cricket Australia, the sport's ruling body in Lee's home country, has advised him to reject offers from county sides.
Lee, who desperately needs more first-class match-play after six consecutive appearances as Australia's 12th man, looks set to follow Cricket Australia's advice by turning down any approaches from England before the Ashes series.
The 28-year-old has been in demand for a county stint between the end of the New Zealand tour in April and the start of the Ashes tour in June.
"They (Cricket Australia) are keen for him to give it a miss and we would be silly not to follow their advice," Lee's manager Neil Maxwell told the Sydney Daily Telegraph.
"They felt it would be too much of a drain on him. If he wasn't playing at all it would be a big step (to play in the Ashes) but with the amount of one-day cricket between now and then it shouldn't be a problem."
Australia will bring four or five pacemen to England with Lee, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Shaun Tait all in the picture.