Port Elizabeth, Apr 13 : The Australian new-ball pair of Stuart Clark and Brett Lee have returned to the squad, but neither will be of any help to skipper Ricky Ponting in Monday’s must-win one-day clash here with South Africa.

Lee, who is in Port Elizabeth training with his IPL team, met Australian coach Tim Nielsen on Saturday and will join the Australian ODI squad on April 18 when they fly from Johannesburg to Dubai for a series against Pakistan.

Clark, who withdrew from the first Test against South Africa in Perth in December with an elbow complaint, will join the Australians on Monday, replacing the injured Brett Geeves.

However the 33-year-old Clark is unlikely to hop straight into action. Victorian fast-medium bowler Shane Harwood, 35, will be the one to come into the side, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

After watching his side concede 6-289 in Thursday’s game three in Cape Town, Ponting admitted he needed more than just Mitchell Johnson (4-34) punching holes in South Africa’s middle order.

“Mitch has been outstanding in both forms of the game,” Ponting said.

“We need other guys to have an impact through the innings . . . We need to be able to bowl a lot of dot balls and keep the batsman on strike,” he added.

Australia trail 2-1 in the five-game series. (ANI)