Brett Lee has credited a new-found patience for his man-of-the-match performance in Australia's crushing win over Sri Lanka in Brisbane.
Assuming the mantle of spearhead bowler for the first time following the retirement of champion paceman Glenn McGrath, Lee was simply outstanding, collecting eight wickets for the match on an unusually lifeless Gabba wicket.
While Lee's trademark speed and intimidation were ever-present threats to the tourists, it was the maturity and control of his bowling throughout both innings which were most impressive.
In good batting conditions, Lee conceded a miserly 112 runs from 44.5 overs in the match, notching 17 maidens in the process.
Having claimed 4-26 in the first innings, Lee found his way through the defences of tailenders Dilhara Fernando and Farveez Maharoof yesterday morning to finish with 4-86 in the second.
Speaking after the game, captain Ricky Ponting praised Lee's ability to alter his approach to suit the requirements of the team and the match tempo.
"Brett led the attack very, very well. I thought he had a really mature outlook on things in this game," Ponting said.
"I mean, he dropped his pace back at times when he needed to bowl line and length and slow the momentum of the game a little bit.
"Then at times like this morning, when the tail was in, he came in and bowled a lot quicker and knocked over a couple of them."
They say patience is a virtue and in few walks of life is it more so than in Test cricket.
For fast bowlers, however, finding the right balance between the aggression needed to compete at the highest level and the ability to outlast opposing batsmen in a battle of wills is akin to walking a tightrope.
After bursting on to the scene in 1999, Lee, by his own admission, struggled to balance his desire to use his athletic talents to intimidate and attack with the need to create, build and maintain pressure.
Having snared a staggering 42 wickets in his first three series in the baggy green, Lee struggled between 2001 and 2005, during which time he averaged a pedestrian 38.
Things have steadily improved since, with Lee's confident, mature display alongside debutant Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark, who is a relative newcomer to the international arena, evidence of just how far he has come.
"I really thought the way he went about things has been fantastic and I think he has been growing into this role for a while now," Ponting said.
"He's been there in one-day cricket for a long time now and in Test cricket you can see there has been a steady improvement. There seems to be a know-how about how he is going to get guys out."
The world's top-ranked one-day bowler since 2006, Lee said he had learned from watching McGrath's meticulous preparation and relentless approach to bowling. And he is much more comfortable in his own game these days, with his yearning for wickets far outweighing the importance of pushing the speed radar any higher.
"I was really happy with the way I bowled all match," Lee said.
"I just maintained my patience through the whole Test and from that, the wickets came.
"I knew if I kept putting the ball in the right spot the wickets would come and that was the case."
Lee said he was pleased with the development of his combination with his NSW team-mate Clark and Johnson, who was solid in his Test debut, claiming two wickets in each innings.
After numerous near misses, Clark finally snared his 50th Test wicket when he trapped Sri Lanka's diminutive wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardane leg before wicket for one in the sixth over of the day, after Ponting handed him the new ball.
- DAN KOCH