AUSTRALIA captain Ricky Ponting may have saved Brett Lee's Test career by delivering the blunt message to bowl fast at any cost.
Lee reinvented himself as one of the world's most feared quicks when he sizzled as fast as 153.7km/h to roar through the abysmal West Indies batting line-up at the Gabba yesterday.
Lee's trademark fist pumps were back as he took 5-30 - his best Test figures and his first five-wicket haul in four lean years. It took a heart to heart with Ponting on Saturday night to convince Lee to abandon plans to bowl line and length and focus on bowling flat out at speeds around the 150km/h mark.
"I think listening to him before the game he wanted to be more economical and not go for as many runs which probably meant he wanted to drop his pace," Ponting said.
"I totally disagreed with him. Brett is the bowler he is because of his pace. If he drops his pace he actually becomes a lot easier to hit."
For the first time in 157 innings over 12 years, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne played in a completed innings without either taking a wicket.
But having Lee and swing specialist Nathan Bracken (4-48) share the spoils was just the result Australia wanted to see as they plot for life beyond their two legends. In the search for new bowling options for the next generation, Australia may have discovered its future in Bracken.
The woeful Windies lost 8-44 and were bowled out for 129 in an appalling display that resulted in a crushing 379-run first Test loss within four days - the 11th worst loss by runs in Test history.
Fans who yearned to see a competitive series after the thrilling Ashes result will have been sadly disappointed by this West Indies side, which has precious little fight and not enough talent.
Lee's inspired spell of tearaway fast bowling, after a week of media reports questioning his place in the side, was just the tonic he needed to resurrect his flagging Test career.
For a bowler who burst onto the international scene with 5-47 against India in 1999-2000, Lee has endured a startling run of outs in recent times.
It had been 60 innings since he took his last five-wicket haul and his bowling average in that time ballooned to almost 40.
Lee has consulted a variety of former Test cricketers - including Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh - to rediscover the X-factor that made him the bowler every batsman feared.
But it was a simple urging from Ponting - "just bowl fast" - that did the trick.
"I just really tried to get the ball going through to Gilly, I was working on pace," Lee said.
"My biggest asset is pace, that's why I'm in the Australian team, so I'm not going to be going out there and trying to bowl 135km/h bowling line and length.
"Confidence is everything and if you can get five wickets in a Test it's something you dream about."
The other great bonus for Australia was it may have unearthed a third quality seamer in Bracken, who exploited the overcast conditions beautifully.
The left armer was almost unplayable at times, and he was on a hat-trick when he dismissed Daren Powell and Fidel Edwards with superb movement through the air.
Bracken also got the biggest wicket of his life - having Brian Lara caught in the gully by a diving Matthew Hayden.
Lara walked off with a flourish of his bat to the Gabba crowd, signalling his farewell to the ground.
"It was a sensational wicket to get and basically I capitalised on that and kept on pushing," Bracken said. "It was a real confidence booster for me."
While West Indies was terrible, Australia could be well pleased with their performance as they made leaps forward in several areas.
Catching was an area of great concern during the Ashes but it improved markedly this match with Shane Warne's diving slips catch to dismiss Devon Smith probably the best of the bunch. Australia has not lost a series on these shores since 1992-93, and this ramshackle West Indies outfit is set for a long summer.
The Courier-Mail
Eat that aussie1st, and Zorax especially 
