Brett Lee is determined to strike a pre-Ashes psychological blow against Andrew Flintoff when Australia meet England for the first time since last year's battles in their crucial Champions Trophy match in Jaipur on Saturday.
Australia and eighth-ranked England meet in a match both sides need to win to have a realistic hope of making the semi-finals, having lost their first group games, to the West Indies and India respectively.
Even still, either team could win both their last two preliminary matches and still fail to make the semis. It is also possible, if unlikely, that only one win will be enough to make the semis on run rates. Neither side is counting on that.
Aside from this trophy, which Australia have never won, there is a significant Ashes subtext to the match, and Lee, growing into the role of Australia's main strike bowler, has made it clear he wants to make Flintoff his man.
Lee dismissed the all-rounder just twice in England last year, including once in a one-dayer. But his captain, Ricky Ponting, feels he was not able to use Lee to full advantage in England, because of injuries to Glenn McGrath and the poor form of other bowlers.
"Brett's already made it pretty clear that he wants to almost target Freddie. The disappointing thing for us in the last Ashes series is we basically couldn't use Brett the way we wanted to use him," said Ponting.
"Brett was having to bowl longer, more sustained spells, which is not what he's used to doing and not what he's best at. He's best off coming on and bowling three-, four- or five-over spells in both forms of the game. If he can do that and be explosive then he's going to cause all batsmen problems."
Flintoff is expected to again bat at No.3 in an England side likely to be unchanged to that which lost to India by four wickets, when dismissed batting first for just 125. Ponting said the Australians had also been hatching plans for another Ashes tormentor, Kevin Pietersen.
In his Ashes diary, Ponting noted how England had gained a psychological edge through subtle moves such as always arriving at grounds and setting up to practice before the Australians.
Flintoff's men might have another edge here, in that they booked the Jaipur ground for training on Friday night - Australia's only full night in the Pink City, having arrived late on Thursday.
The benefit of training at night is that it prepares teams for the notorious dew which makes life difficult for the team bowling second. The dew factor means neither team will be keen on batting first. It has also led Australia to seriously consider dropping spinner Brad Hogg for raw paceman Mitchell Johnson.
While insisting one-dayers have minor relevance on Tests, Ponting is still eager to reassert authority over England, whose revival against Australia started with victory in a Champions Trophy semi-final in England in 2004.
"Looking back to that game, and the one-day series before the Ashes, and then the Ashes, they've played well against us," Ponting said. "It's up to us to change that trend around now."
- TREVOR MARSHALLSEA