Brett Lee faces perhaps his greatest on-field challenge later this year when he becomes the senior member of Australia's bowling attack, but his brother Shane has urged Ricky Ponting not to view him as the new Glenn McGrath.
"Hopefully he'll not be expected to play too much of a different role to the one he now has," said Shane, a member of Australia's 1999 World Cup-winning Australian squad. "Stuart Clark is more in the McGrath mould, Brett should just continue to do what he does: bowl fast and get the breakthroughs."
Regardless, Lee, now 30, is adamant he's ready to take over as the attack's leader. He has matured greatly since his debut against India at the MCG in 1999 when, during his seven-wicket haul, his raw pace left the Indian batsmen looking more like unsuspecting victims than accomplished internationals.
While he does study videos of his opponents, Lee said he more often relies on basic instinct when he's out "hunting."
"I'll research the batsmen or analyse my bowling action if I'm not happy," he said of his approach. "But more often than not I follow my instinct."
Lee is capable of bowling at 160kmh. In 1999 he broke Jo Angel's arm in a Pura Cup game for NSW against Western Australia. The speed of the delivery - and the aftermath - led Steve Waugh and Shane Warne to call for his immediate inclusion in the Test XI.
At the 2003 World Cup, en route to just the fourth hat-trick in the competition's history, he struck Kenyan batsman Kennedy Otieno on the elbow, the ball ricocheting onto the stumps as the opener fell to the ground in agony.
"The aggression comes naturally," Lee said. "You don't be silly with it but a switch flicks on when you're bowling fast and you can get caught up in the moment. It's about being competitive."
Lee's instinct was instilled in him as a youngster when he took 6-0 in one over - all bowled - in his first "real" game for the Oak Flats Rats.
"I remember his action when he was 10 - it was a lot like the one he has now," Shane said. "From 11 to 15 he grew too quick for his own good, tall and gawky and because he was, well, uncoordinated he was vulnerable to injuries. But the excellent work Brett did with Dennis Lillee went a long way to putting him on track."
As for Lee, he's going to miss McGrath's guidance and tutelage.
"The best tip he gave me was to be myself and not to let people tinker too much with my action," Lee said.
- DANIEL LANE