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Fast show Lee ready to unleash himself against England
NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) -- Australia fast bowler Brett Lee believes he is ready to unleash himself on England in the remaining three Ashes cricket tests -- starting with the third at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Lee bowled at full strength for the first time since surgery on his right arm as Australia suffered a rare two-wicket defeat at the hands of county side Hampshire on Monday. His three wickets in the second innings failed to stop his side suffering the embarrassing loss to Hampshire for the first time in 89 years. But it was a promising sign that Lee was almost back to full fitness. "The body feels fantastic, touch wood, and the ball's just coming out great right now," Lee said. "The pace is back, the rhythm is back, which is such an important thing. That comes from playing. "There was a time to crank it up a little bit. I thought I would let a couple go. There's a few more left in the tank. I wasn't going at 100 percent, but that comes down to rhythm and playing more matches. "The rhythm felt very good and I felt very comfortable. There was a lot of pride. I was charging in and the rhythm felt very good and I was lucky to pick up a couple of wickets." The 24-year-old, who recently lost his place as the fastest bowler in international cricket to Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, is still on the mend after surgery on his right elbow in February. The surgery involved the repair of the medial ligament and flexor tendon. A previous bone break that failed to heal was also corrected. His ulna bone -- on the little finger side of the forearm -- was reattached with two screws and bone graft. Since surgery, Lee has made good progress. He began playing again during Australia's successful Tri-Nations one-day campaign against Pakistan and England in June. England has already suffered the wrath of a half-fit Lee, when the Australian cut short batsman Graham Thorpe's test comeback at Lord's. Lee hit Thorpe in the second innings which left the England and Surrey batsman with a break in his right hand, almost ruling him out for the rest of the series. "I'm feeling a lot more confident as a bowler," Lee said. "Coming back from a serious operation, it just takes time to build from that. "I'm trying to just keep going in leaps and bounds. I feel like I am back to how I was bowling last year." Lee, who has been relegated to a first change bowler during his recovery, was philosophical about his role in the Australian side. "There are just so many great bowlers in the team," Lee said. "I'm just happy to be bowling for Australia." Australia's loss to Hampshire was its first loss to a county side in a first-class fixture on the current tour. The world champion lost by six wickets to Middlesex in a one-day match in June. Lee put the defeat down to complacency and said the Australians had underestimated their opponents. "This makes sure you don't become complacent," Lee said. "We will focus now on the next test... not worry what happened here. You can't win every match. Things happen, that's the way cricket is, and that's why we keep playing it." Since Steve Waugh took over as Australia captain, the side has lost only five of its 26 tests and won 19, including a record 16 in a row. "We're playing very positive cricket and since we started doing that we've won a lot of tests," Lee said. "We're trying to set a benchmark for cricketers everywhere. "We're trying to lead from the front by doing different types of things and try to bring a different angle. It has worked so far."
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