Lee prepares to bowl for his place.

Cricket New (June 23,2009).

Brett Lee is ready for a tough contest with his fellow fast men when Australia's Ashes tour begins with their first warm-up game in Hove on Wednesday. Lee will be competing with Peter Siddle, Stuart Clark and Ben Hilfenhaus for the fast-bowling slots alongside Mitchell Johnson for the first Test.

It's a position that Lee hasn't been accustomed to over the past couple of years, when he has often been the first bowler pencilled into the team list. But a lack of form over the Australian summer, combined with a long injury lay-off, means Lee will be extra motivated to perform strongly against Sussex.

"There's a lot of competition - maths at school, you know that 16 doesn't go into 11," Lee told AAP. "To me the true test will be these two trial matches coming up. The guys that play well, certainly from a bowler's point of view, and without putting pressure upon ourselves, we know it's a bit of a shoot-out. But that's healthy and that makes it exciting, too."

Following the four-day match the Australians will take on the England Lions in Worcester and juggling their attack looms as a key in the lead-up to the Cardiff Test. In addition to the pace battle they must decide whether to squeeze in the offspinner Nathan Hauritz and what, if any, role will be filled by the allrounders Shane Watson and Andrew McDonald.

"I don't think we can lock anyone in just yet," the captain Ricky Ponting said. "There will be certain things that I'll ask of every player to be able to do by the end of this game and hopefully they can do that and adapt and adjust to the conditions.

"We've got two games. It's not as if it's going to be an out-and-out bowl off or an out-and-out bat off between any players. I just want to see what everyone's got in these conditions and what they can deliver for the team."

Australia can field 12 players for the Sussex game, which is not a first-class fixture, and that gives them extra flexibility to assess their 16-man squad. Ponting said Hauritz was expected to play in the first warm-up game, where the surface is likely to assist the spinners.

"There will be a good opportunity there for us as batsmen to get used to the pace and the bounce and maybe a bit of spin," Ponting said. "It will be a good opportunity for our bowlers to experience those conditions and work out the lines and lengths they need to bowl. It will be a good chance for Hauritz to get some good exposure in these sorts of conditions."