Brett Lee is unleashing thunderbolts again, confident he can cope with the pace of cricket's fastest game.
Lee has declared he's finally back to top speed, four months after major ankle surgery but less than a month before he spearheads a new-look Australian attack at the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.
The speedster was devastated to miss Australia's victorious one-day World Cup campaign and his recovery from torn ligaments in his left ankle has been agonisingly slow. But he finally turned up the pace to full blast in a net session with good mate and former NSW batsman Corey Richards at the SCG last week.
"I'm fit and refreshed and felt I could have gone flat-out a month ago, but I've had to be patient," Lee said.
"Now I'm back running flat-out and felt like I was bowling at full pace again.
"As each session has gone on I've got quicker and quicker. I'm back to bowling where I finished up before the injury.
"But I don't want to be like I was six months ago, I want to keep improving and become a better player."
Lee said he was champing at the bit to lead Australia's attack at the Twenty20 tournament.
Australia's bowling coach Troy Cooley said Lee would be up to the task, declaring he would be the bowler that batsmen feared in the big-hitting tournament.
"He's been training the house down and he looks good," Cooley said.
"He slotted straight back into that classical action, he had a beautiful seam position and was swinging the ball away nicely."
Lee has only been training in four- to six-over blocks and said the Twenty20 championship offered the perfect platform for his international return.
He said he was determined to maintain the high standards set by Australia's retired pace king Glenn McGrath.
"It's something I've been looking forward to for a long time now, and I've been given the opportunity with Glenn leaving the scene and retiring from Test match cricket.
"We're not going into this competition as favourites - England and South Africa would definitely be favourites as far as Twenty20 cricket is concerned."