Brett Lee has outlined his intention of playing on until 2013 in a move that could see Australia's pace spearhead surpass the iconic Dennis Lillee and take 400 Test wickets.
As Lee prepares for his key showdown with South Africa star Dale Steyn, the 32-year-old spoke to The Sunday Telegraph about his future and one of the most turbulent years of his life.
The frontline quick came under fire last month following a mediocre tour of India that reaped just eight wickets at 61, prompting critics to anoint Mitchell Johnson as Australia's new-ball king.
Lee's sub-continental woes came just six weeks after his off-field life was sent into a tailspin following the breakdown of his marriage. But after ripping through New Zealand last week in Adelaide with 9-171 - the best match figures of his 74-Test career - Lee is adamant he has lost none of the drive that made him one of the most feared bowlers of his generation.
Lee insists he is not a fading force and the statistics provide compelling evidence. He has taken 56 wickets in 2008, his best haul in a calendar year since his entry to the Test arena in 1999.
Retirement? Lee says he's not even close.
"I'm confident in my own mind. If I keep doing the right things, if I look after my body, there's at least another four or five years left in me. Being a fast bowler, things will go wrong with your body. But I've got a great strength program.
"The game has changed a lot in the last 10 years. It's gone to a new level. Blokes are fitter and stronger. I have missed a fair bit of cricket with injuries, plus I was 12th man (for the Test side) for 18 months. I only feel 27 or 28 in bowling terms. I'm still improving. I don't feel I'm ready for retirement just yet."
With 309 Test scalps at 30.12, Lee is fast approaching a summit he never envisaged scaling.
If he maintains his average of 4.17 wickets a Test, he will surpass the great Lillee's haul of 355 Test wickets on next year's tour of England.
In the distance, he can see the dream: playing 100 Tests. That would provide the platform to reach 400 wickets, a mountain only one Australia pace bowler, Glenn McGrath, has conquered.
"To think I'm about 40-odd wickets from going past Dennis Lillee, I find it hard to comprehend. It feels like yesterday I was playing for the Oak Flats under-8s," he said.
"Dennis was the bloke I emulated in the back yard. When I was 16, I met him at a fast bowlers' clinic in Sydney. I remember him saying: 'You have good pace. If you stay strong, you never know, one day you might play for Australia'."
- PETER BADEL