"I'm here or there with the 50-over game in that guys might need a rest because there is so much of it played," Lee said.

"Twenty20 is obviously 'do what you want' because that's the game - you amp it up. However, for Test match cricket you put the best on the park every time. Guys have to be fit and strong enough to get through and play a whole Test series.

"It's a fact of cricketing life that along the way things do happen, players will get injured but that creates opportunity for others," Lee was quoted as saying by 'The Age'.

Lee, who retired from the five-day game two years ago to focus on the limited-overs games as a means to extend his injury-ravaged career, said pace bowlers need to retain their toughness through hard work on the field.

"It's important we don't 'baby' our fast bowlers, but at the same time we don't want to burn them out," he said.

"It's a balancing act, but as I've said, I'm a firm believer in picking our best people for Test matches. We should always put our best Test team on the park."

The Australian team's former strength and fitness coach Jock Campbell cited the pressure on fast bowlers to try and hit the 150km/h mark was perhaps yet another reason for the high volume of pacemen breaking down.

"The mid-140s isn't that quick any more," Campbell said.

"A few years ago that was very quick, but the fast bowlers are striving to hit that 150km/h regularly, like a Peter Siddle."

Lee said his ability to still be able to generate speeds of up to 150kmph after 20 years at the top was one of his proudest career achievements. But he feared the new emphasis on a need for speed could hurt some of his contemporaries.

"You can have so many wickets, but to me longevity is the key," Lee said.

"I'm still running in and bowling fast and think I'll be bowling at 150 in a week or so. When Channel Nine and Fox use the speed gun to generate a bit of excitement, I think it's healthy in the sense kids love to watch it. But there's a lot of pressure on the fast bowlers to hit 140-150. If their bodies aren't used to it, the chances are something will go wrong."