A good thing too

Bung is ready to go

AUSTRALIAN fast bowler Brett Lee says he is "absolutely" available and ready to play Test cricket in India next month despite the recent break-up of his marriage.

Lee spent time with his teammates for the first time since he split with his wife of two years, Liz Kemp, last month.

Lee, 31, is sitting out the one-day series against Bangladesh after being given time off to deal with his marriage breakdown, but he declared himself ready for selection for the four Tests against India.

"Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait," he said.

Lee said it had worked well spending time away from the game, and he was looking forward to achieving his long-held ambition of playing a Test match in India.

"That's something that's been burning inside of me for a long period of time now, so I'll be looking forward to getting over there," he said.

"It's a tough place to play cricket but also one that is very enjoyable."

Lee spoke to the media for a few minutes, but the press conference was limited to cricket questions only.

Still, he said he felt it a good move to get away from home for a day.

"I thought it would be a wise move to get out of Sydney and just come up here and spend some time in Darwin and see how the lads are going and get back into the feel of things again," he said.

Lee took part in Australia's light recovery session, comprising kicking footballs around, following the side's win over Bangladesh in the second one-day match.

Lee's availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy defence is a major boost for Australia's planning, given the likely absence of allrounder Andrew Symonds.

Symonds was sent home from Darwin for disciplinary reasons and is considering his future in the international game.

Australia will name their squad for India next week and depart on September 21.


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A good thing. Get out of the house and back with your mates. Can't imagine he'll struggle for female company.

He'll be fired up after losing his missus . . .

And he might bowl well also.