If you believe all the hype this summer, you would think the two-Test series in Brisbane and Hobart is a fight between Murali and Australia. To a certain extent it is.

Muralitharan needs only nine wickets to pass Shane Warne's world-record haul of 708, while Ricky Ponting's team has stated it will do everything possible to ensure that mark is not reached on the retired leg-spinner's home soil.

While this battle between ball and bat will have a large impact on the series, there are several sub-plots that will be just as intriguing and important for the world champions as they begin life without retired greats Warne and Glenn McGrath, and the stubborn Justin Langer.

One major issue for discussion will be which bowler Ponting can turn to and rely upon to seize the moment when a partnership needs to be broken. For the past decade, that was predominantly the domain of McGrath and Warne, with help at times from the likes of Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel and Stuart MacGill.

McGrath and Warne were the team's security blanket. Even if they were not taking wickets, the constant pressure they exerted more often than not resulted in something favorable happening for the Aussies.

Australian coach Tim Nielsen has preferred to look upon the new era as a chance for the next generation of talent to leave its mark, or for several of the side's established players to step up and really take ownership of the team.

One man who Ponting and the national selectors are looking will do this is Lee, who says he is physically and mentally ready to fill the role of spearhead. If Lee is to help fill the void left by McGrath, he must be able to not only claim early wickets but finish with a bag and build pressure by restricting runs.

Whether he can start to do this after seven years as an enforcer where his role was to rough up opponents is debatable. He has yet to prove he can really run through a side because in 59 Tests he has only seven, five-wicket hauls. Four of those came in his first 13 Tests. While he may touch high-octane speeds of 160km/h, top batsmen don't always fear this because Lee is a ''skidder'' and doesn't extract the same unnerving bounce which McGrath said was the key to his glittering career.

Lee does have a strike rate (53.16) which is on par with McGrath (51.95) but, of the bowlers to have 100 Test victims, he has the highest average per 100 balls (59.46).

The metronomic Stuart Clark is seen as the man who can become the McGrath-clone as far as building pressure by rigid line and length and the extra bounce a man of his height can extract. Clark has made a fine start to his career but, again, that has largely been with McGrath and Warne by his side.

After a strong Australia A tour of Pakistan and start to the domestic season, NSW southpaw Phil Jaques deserved to replace Langer and become Matthew Hayden's new sidekick. Jaques has more than 10,000 first-class runs to his credit and has been described by Steve Waugh as the Adam Gilchrist of the top order because of his power hitting.

That's all well and good, but the challenge of taking on the world's best is another story. Jaques had managed two Tests in recent years when Langer was absent through injury, but he had yet to confirm he truly belonged at the elite level by nailing a big score. That chance comes this summer.

Once the Sri Lankans depart, Australia will soon after begin preparations for a four-Test tour by India. The Australians are confident they can retain their mantle as the No.1-ranked nation. Some pundits believe this dominant run will soon be over. At the very least, so the theory goes, victories will be harder to achieve because Warne and McGrath are no longer there.

Questions. Questions. Questions. The time for answers has arrived.