Chief among Australia's concerns ahead of the pivotal third cricket test in Delhi is focusing the mind of spearhead Brett Lee.
While the fitness of Stuart Clark remains an unknown -- he has not bowled since pulling out of the second test due to an elbow complaint -- the focus on the mental and technical problems afflicting Lee have been dissected in painful detail in the aftermath of the tourists' 320-run defeat.
Apart from the on-field dialogue between he and Ricky Ponting that the pair were at pains to downplay after the second test in Mohali, Lee has offered only occasional quality spells.
The worst was his second new-ball spell against Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh in Bangalore which might have cost the tourists their best chance of taking the momentum and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Coach Tim Nielsen suggested that Lee was in need of some time to sit back and remember how he has taken wickets so frequently over the past two years.
"He's been a little bit inconsistent, probably more so than he has been over the last 10-15 months when he has played so well," Nielsen said.
"We might've got a little impatient in this test match, we were searching for a result pretty quickly because we felt like we were under pressure and Brett was no different to anybody there.
"And these conditions are quite unrelenting so if you're not quite right with your skills you tend to get found out.
"Most importantly he's got to have his mind right, so he knows if it's not bouncing a lot, if he's not bowling 160kph because it's not perfect, he's just got to fill a role for the team." Opener Matthew Hayden batted under what seemed a red mist of fury during the second innings at the PCA Stadium, trying to hit the first ball he faced for six.
Nielsen said that like Lee's obvious eagerness to bowl on the fourth morning, despite Ponting's advice that he would not, Hayden's aggressive intent represented welcome but possibly misdirected passion.
"I'd be more concerned if (Lee) was standing down at fine leg and almost hiding away not wanting to bowl, than actually putting his hand up and saying 'give me the ball now, I want to go'," Nielsen said.
"It was no different than Matthew coming out and trying to stamp his authority in the second innings.
"Both Brett and Matthew (Hayden) have shown glimpses over the last 10 days, we just need to get them feeling good about themselves over the next week.
"They need to try to get to the stage where they can understand if they do their basic things well enough for long enough they'll have success as they have in the past, and not search too hard for a result, which I think we got sucked into doing in Mohali."
