Fast bowler Brett Lee insisted on Wednesday he was ready to make a dramatic return from injury in the fourth Test as Australia look to revive their Ashes campaign.

Lee, the most experienced bowler in Australia’s attack with 310 wickets on 76 Tests, has not featured at all in the first three matches of this Ashes series after sustaining a side injury in the lead-up to the first Test.

But the 32-year-old New South Wales quick was adamant he would be fit to last the pace in the fourth Test, which starts at Headingley here on Friday with Australia 1-0 down in the five-match series.

Asked if he was fit for Test cricket, Lee told reporters at Headingley here on Wednesday: “Yes, 100 percent. I do believe I have done the work. I’ve been bowled eight days straight.

“Most days I’ve bowled back-to-back, morning and afternoon sessions. on Wednesday I bowled practically the whole session and my pace felt really good. I’m 100 percent ready to go.”

With no tour match in between the end of Monday’s drawn third Test at Edgbaston and Friday’s start at Yorkshire’s headquarters, Australia would be selecting Lee ‘cold’ if they recalled him to their side this week.

But the bowler himself, couldn’t see a problem with his lack of recent match practice. “No not really. Hopefully I’ve done everything I can to prove I’m ready to go.

“I’m confident if I was called upon to play I would be able to get through. If it was a different injury, you might think differently. But the way I’ve felt, I’ve done the preparation and it’s been a minor setback.

“Hopefully I’ve passed that, bowling eight days straight and can prove that I can stand up and am ready to go.”

Lee admitted it had been a frustrating experience to be on the sidelines in a series where Australia have yet to bowl England out twice.

“Honestly, it’s been really difficult. You know how much I love playing, you know I’d love to be out there playing,” added Lee, who has not played a Test since December because of foot and heel injuries.

“I was ready for the first Test match and, as I’ve said before I’ve had two muscle strains in 18, 20 years of cricket since I started. It just happened at the wrong time. That’s the way it goes, it’s not always plain sailing.

“You’ve just got to find a way to get through it and I’ve been through a lot worse. I’ve been through different injuries and I’ve always found a way to come back. You saw on Wednesday, I was charging in and bowling rapid.

“All I can do is prove that I am ready to go.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to announce his retirement from senior cricket on Tuesday. 

The Yorkshire batsman’s future has been the subject of speculation ever since he was left out of England’s Ashes training squad last week.

British newspaper reports on Sunday said his retirement was imminent and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) subsequently announced the 34-year-old Vaughan would hold a press conference at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

England are due to play Warwickshire in an Ashes warm-up match there on Wednesday.

It was at Edgbaston that Vaughan led England to a nailbiting two-run win over Australia four years ago.

It was a victory that helped England to a 2-1 Test series win over their oldest rivals and a first Ashes campaign victory since 1986/87.

That series was the high point of Vaughan’s time in charge of England, with a persistent knee injury leaving him on the sidelines for months at a time.

Unsurprisingly, his form as a batsman – which had seen touch the realms of greatness during the 2002/03 tour of Australia – also began to decline.

He resigned the England captaincy in tears in August last year after the home series against South Africa was lost and has not played for England since.

Vaughan, England’s most successful Test captain in terms of overall wins, with 26 victories, 11 defeats and 14 draws in his five-year spell in charge, vowed to force his way back into the team through sheer weight of runs.

But never the most prolific of run-getters in county cricket, he has managed just 147 runs in seven County Championship innings this season for Yorkshire.

Meanwhile any hopes Vaughan had of regaining a place in England’s side have been blunted by the emergence of Ravi Bopara, who this year has scored hundreds in three successive Tests against the West Indies, at No 3.

There had been speculation that Vaughan might make an announcement about his future following Yorkshire’s Twenty20 Cup match against Derbyshire at Headingley on Sunday.

But his position is complicated by the fact that Vaughan is on an ECB central contract.

As a result Vaughan, who met with Yorkshire officials on Sunday, may now have played his final game of cricket at senior level if, as has been reported, his retirement announcement takes immediate effect.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan said: “Michael is employed by the ECB so he is unable to comment until after he has spoken to them and formalised the situation.

“As far as the club is concerned today is an important match for us and we can’t have any disruption or lack of focus on what needs to be achieved on the field.

“Both Michael and the club felt it was in both of our interests for him not to play.

“The plan was for him to play but given the news we discussed the situation and felt all the hype and speculation going on wouldn’t have been in the team’s interests.”