SYDNEY, Oct 9: The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) is funding a research project which requires state associations to monitor the workload of bowlers from training to match situations.

Injured pace trio Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken and Ashley Noffke will be late starters for this summer’s domestic season in the lead-up to Australia’s World Cup defence in 2003.

In the next 16 months Australia will play 20 Tests and at least 36 One-day Internationals, maintaining the pressure on some of the nation’s hardest-working sportsmen.

“This calendar year we have Australian players in the Test and one-day team playing approximately 130 days of cricket,” national coach John Buchanan said Tuesday.

The ACB has reacted by enforcing bowling restrictions in first-class matches for under-19 players for the first time.

But the biggest watch on Australian players will be the core group who feature in the Test and one-day teams, including Steve and Mark Waugh, Glenn Grath, Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Lee and Shane Warne.

“These players are spending up to 250 days of the calendar year away from home so it’s important that they are managed the best way,” Buchanan said.

“But they’re already pretty good at knowing what is best for them during training sessions and in the lead-up to games.”

Steve Waugh has insisted he would play on in the near future despite the 36-year-old Test captain’s recent injury setbacks.

Waugh expects to overcome deep vein thrombosis before the opening Test of the summer against New Zealand at Brisbane’s Gabba ground on Nov 8.

Australia will play three Tests each against New Zealand and South Africa before heading to South Africa and Zimbabwe in February for a three-month tour.—AFP