Eyebrows were raised when Andy Bichel was dropped for the third Test at the WACA. He hadn't exactly let himself down in the first two matches, picking up five wickets in three innings, including vital last-over strikes on the first and third days at Adelaide. But, on one of the fastest Perth pitches in many a year, and with England's battle-scarred batsmen ripe for a good kicking, Brett Lee could be kept out of the series no longer. Steve Waugh had warned there could be injuries on this track, and although Lee has yet to break any bones, it has not been for want of trying. As our graph shows, Lee went straight for the throat, with nearly half of his deliveries banged in short of a good length. He went for runs too, particularly when he pitched the ball up, but parsimony has never been his strong point.

But not a single run was scored from any of the 21 genuine short balls that Lee banged in, a figure that was more than five times the number that Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath bowled between them. It was a marked change from the regimented discipline that had carried Australia to their 2-0 lead, and it worked.

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