Brett Lee happy to be Aussie pace mentor

Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee is uncertain of taking the field in the third one-day international at the Feroze Shah Kotla against India tomorrow but the elbow injury he sustained during the first ODI in Vadodara on Sunday hasn't deterred him from keeping himself busy. While the 32-year-old speedster's schedule is packed with brand endorsements, he's also using his forced time-out to mentor the young Aussie pace brigade.

"I am enjoying each moment," Lee said yesterday. Senior pros like Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Damien Fleming doing the same when Lee entered the fold in 1999-2000.

But while he is enjoying his injury time with the boys, Lee can't wait to get back on the playing field. He however doesn't want to rush his return and aggravate the injury.

"This is a big seven-match series and I have been actively involved in back-to-back series right from England, South Africa, over to India and here again. We haven't really had much of a rest over the past couple of months. We have been on the road for six and a half months now.

"It is important for me make sure I'm not playing with pain. So, I will have a bowl tomorrow in the nets and assess how the elbow feels, and then take it from there. I want to play on Saturday, definitely," Lee said.

However, if the elbow injury hadn't occurred, he would have opted to sit out for a couple of matches. "When you are trying to bowl at 155k every time you take the field, there will be a time when there will be a niggle here and there. It's not a long-term thing. And I was pretty much due to have a rest in one or two games of this series anyway," Lee said.

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