India's veteran new-ball bowlers Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad returned to what could be called their finishing school on Friday.

It was at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai that Australian pace bowling legend Dennis Lillee fine-tuned the bowling of the Karnataka duo who have rendered yeoman service to Indian cricket. Indian coach John Wright's suggestion at the selection committee meeting meant that the twosome, alongwith new boys Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Harvinder Singh, were again learning at the feet of their old master.

Lillee watched Srinath and Prasad in action before dispensing his tips. "Sometimes when you play international cricket without a break, you can develop the odd bad habit. It could be due to the different types of wickets, different kind of balls, or even loss of form. Often small things that can be set right," he told The Hindu.

The Australian pace legend, who at one time held the world- record for most number of Test wickets, was reported to be "very impressed" with Harvinder's progress. The Punjabi paceman is rumoured to be among the five stand-bys for the South Africa tour.

"He looks compact. Technically he is better now than what I've seen of him before. Good action, sharp pace. He was knocking the batsmen over with good outswingers. But you got to translate your bowling at the nets into a match situation," Lillee told the paper.

The 'Pace Guru' felt that Sodhi though needed to "work hard".

Meanwhile, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra were both expected to land in Chennai on Saturday. It will then be the first time that India's whole pace battery will be in action right under Lillee's eyes. As Cricinfo originally argued, Indian cricket can only be richer from the experience.

© CricInfo