MELBOURNE - The impressive form of Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie on the tour of India would make it tough to break back into the Australian side, injured paceman Brett Lee said today.

After recovering from elbow surgery, Lee has been given the all-clear to bowl again in three weeks, putting the upcoming Ashes tour firmly back on the agenda.

The New South Welshman has spent much of the last month watching India end Australia's record winning streak.

"You know what they say, all good things come to an end and it had to happen at some stage, but I think the Australian players can hold their heads very high," he said.

"It's a very tough tour and it's a nice turning wicket over there.

"They did a fantastic job, they've won 16 straight, they've done a great job for Australia."

Offspinner Harbhajan Singh was the destroyer for India, but Lee was full of praise for the efforts of McGrath and Gillespie on the unhelpful Indian wickets.

"Gillespie bowled very well over there, he had a great tour," said Lee. "McGrath was stock standard for him, so it's going to be hard to get back.

"I just have to make sure my arm's alright."

Australian legspinner Shane Warne failed to match the efforts of Harbhajan in a country where he has regularly struggled for wickets.

"Everyone expects so much from Warnie because he is just a class player, but there's times when people will have an off game," said Lee.

"I actually thought he bowled quite well over there, with the conditions and what was going on.

"We tried to blast them out with our pace barrage."

Lee played a lot of junior cricket against run-scoring sensation VVS Laxman, and was not surprised by his success.

"I've actually played quite a bit of cricket against VVS Laxman, and to watch him play in all of those junior matches, he shone through all of those tours," he said.

"He's proven he's a class player and is still a very young player."

© 2001 AAP