Coach Mickey Arthur, speaking on the eve of the match at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, described the Australian move as "good news" for the Proteas and said his top-order batsmen would agree.

"I suppose it does release the shackles ... I think there might be one or two happier batters out there when I tell them the news," Arthur said.

Lee will be rested for the match under the Australian selectors' policy of giving key players a break throughout the long limited-overs series.

The Australians have already qualified for the best of three finals series, but South Africa, although well placed to grab the other spot, must win one of their next two matches against the host nation to seal it.

Sri Lanka, the third nation competing, need Australia to win both matches against the South Africans then defeat the Proteas themselves in the final qualifying fixture in Hobart on February 7.

Lee has been in fine form throughout the Australian summer and is his country's leading wicket-taker in the series with 10 at an average of 23.

He is the fourth Australian player to be rested under the system, with captain Ricky Ponting returning to the side after a week's break, while pace bowler Glenn McGrath and opener Adam Gilchrist have also had a break.

Ponting said the timing was right for Lee to have a break with the series finals starting on February 19 and Australia's tour of South Africa starting on February 24.

"He's been up for a long time and doing what he does he probably has more stress and physical burn-out than anybody else in the side, so we felt now was an ideal time to give him a rest," Ponting said.

"You'd like to have Brett in your side all the time, but we've got to try to manage the side as well as we can and manage him as well as we can.

"He's been a great weapon for us in both forms of the game over the last 12 months and we've just got to be a little bit careful with him and make sure we are managing him well, and this is another part of that."

The Australians will bring inexperienced pace bowler Brett Dorey into the attack in Lee's place while left-armer Nathan Bracken will also continue to be rested for "personal reasons".

It was not clear if Lee would play in Australia's second match against South Africa in Sydney on Sunday but Ponting said he would return for the finals.

South African captain Graeme Smith, who showed signs of emerging from a form slump with a solid 41 off 52 balls during his team's five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday, will also welcome the news that Lee is being rested.

He was one of Lee's victims when the Australian claimed 5-22 in their last match against South Africa in Melbourne last month.

"He's (Smith's) a very good player in both forms of the game, he averages over 50 in Test cricket and in one-day cricket it's around 40, so statistically he's a very good player and our players have bowled very well to him," Ponting said.

"Brett in particular has bowled very, very well to him.

"Our plans that we've had set for him have worked very well and we've got a few more opportunities now to keep him under pressure and when we get back over there it would be nice to have him under pressure in South Africa as well, in front of his home crowd."

TEAMS
AUSTRALIA: Ricky Ponting (Captain), Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Brad Hogg, Brett Dorey, Stuart Clark, Glenn McGrath, James Hopes (Super sub).

SOUTH AFRICA: Graeme Smith (Captain), Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Johan van der Wath, Johan Botha, Charl Langeveldt, Dale Steyn, Garnett Kruger, Monde Zondeki.