Australia captain Ricky Ponting has expressed concern for the welfare of Brett Lee, saying he's keeping a close watch on his strike bowler to ensure he doesn't burn out.
Ponting said today that he was anxious to preserve Lee for a gruelling schedule of a three-Test series in South Africa followed by two Tests in Bangladesh next month.
While 35-Test veteran Michael Kasprowicz is likely to slot into the new-ball role to replace unavailable Glenn McGrath in the first Test in Cape Town from Thursday, Australia's enthusiasm for playing leg spinners Shane Warne and Stuart MacGill in tandem places extra pressure on Lee.
Ponting insists he wants to continue using Lee in short bursts, and Kasprowicz is well known for his ability to bowl long spells in tough conditions, but Australia may be tempted to rely more on its seamers if the Newlands pitch doesn't favour slow bowlers.
"Brett, in particular, is one we have to keep an eye on," Ponting said.
"He loves coming to training and working on things, and he wants to bowl all the time.
"Me and the coaches have got to have a word to him every now and then.
"Brett will be the spearhead of the attack but it won't mean that we will be looking for him to do any more work.
"Through England, he was probably asked to do a little bit too much.
"Whichever other quickie we go in with, if we only go in with two, we'll have to lean on them to bowl longer spells and lots of overs in the Tests, and (Andrew Symonds) to back up behind that.
"And we know (Shane Warne) can do it. He bowled a lot of overs through the summer, and seems to be thriving on the more bowling he can do.
"I've kept a really close eye on (Lee) in the one-day games. His stats of late haven't been great in the one-day game (7-281 in the five-game series) so he'll be looking forward to getting out there in the Test matches.
"He knows he's not going to have to bowl real long spells again. We'll look after him the best we can that way. He's been up for a long time as well.
"He didn't get the break we wanted him to have in the VB Series at home because of different circumstances. That'll be a big thing for all of us going through this series."
South Africa captain Graeme Smith is keen to try to exploit Ashes reject Kasprowicz, 34, and all rounder Symonds.
Symonds, who can also bowl off spin, is set to play the role of first-change seamer, having taken only eight wickets in seven Tests.
"It would be great if we could exploit that," Smith said.
Smith said an extra workload on Australia's key bowlers could weigh down the touring side with three Tests played back to back.
"But Kasprowicz is a good performer and you can't afford to take that for granted," Smith said.
Ponting said he was confident Symonds could handle long bowling stints despite a limited preparation, missing Australia's first three limited-overs internationals with a thigh strain.
"Being injured probably hasn't helped him get the overs under his belt the last couple of weeks," Ponting said.
"He bowled well and today and will have another good bowl tomorrow. He's a big, strong boy and I'm sure he'll be able to cope with it."
- GREG BUCKLE