Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has admitted that he considered calling it quits after four of his closest teammates retired from the Test arena following the team's failure to retain the Ashes series against England.
"Chris has improved but he is still not 100 percent so we are restricting his training (and) therefore he is unavailable for selection for the second Test."
Australia have wrapped up the Ashes two Tests early, but opening batsman Chris Rogers still feels on shaky ground ahead of the fourth Test in Melbourne without a century to his name in the series.
Four new players were awarded contracts and test opener Chris Rogers has been dropped from Cricket Australia's list of contracted players for next season. David Hussey, Shaun Marsh, Doug Bollinger and Beau Casson were included on the 25-man list for the first time, while Simon Katich and Ashley Noffke were offered new contracts after failing to make the cut last season.
Factbox World Cup match between Australia and England at the MCG.
Australia dominated with bat, ball and in the field to post their second successive innings victory over Pakistan
Australian captain Michael Clarke has said his side still has room for improvement after their utterly dominant 405-run win in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's.
The side, led by Jason Sangha, also includes Will Sutherland, son of Cricket Australia's (CA) chief executive James Sutherland. Sutherland Jr is the vice-captain of the side.
With the second Test set to start on Wednesday, here is a quick fact check on how both teams stand at the Gabba.
'We knew it was going to be tough conditions, for us it was about leaving and respecting good deliveries. Me and Chris left well which put us in a great position'
Former England batsman Graeme Hick and bowling coach Troy Cooley will pit their wits against the tourists when they mentor a Cricket Australia XI in a four-day Ashes tour match in Townsville next month.
Recently retired Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has named No 1 ranked AB de Villiers as the most difficult batsman he had faced during his glorious international career.
Australia will take the same 12-man squad to Perth for the third Ashes Test this week after humbling England by 218 runs to win the second match in Adelaide on Monday.
Captain Ricky Ponting believes Shane Watson could replace retired opening batsman Justin Langer in Australia's Test side.
Chris Rogers will replace the injured Matthew Hayden, while Shaun Tait replaces spinner Brad Hogg for the third Test against India.
Hayden is nursing a hamstring injury he sustained in the second Test and Rogers has been brought in to the squad in case he does not recover in time for the first day's play on Jan 16.
Check out the images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and India played at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Opener Matthew Hayden has been recalled to Australia's squad for next week's fourth and final Test against India after recovering from injury.
India recalled Virender Sehwag for Yuvraj Singh and dropped spinner Harbhajan Singh for paceman Irfan Pathan.
Paceman Ishant Sharma scalped three wickets to brighten his prospects for a berth in the team for the third Test but it was an unexpected name that stole the limelight on the second day of the three-day tie between the tourists and ACT Eleven at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Friday.
Bowling 33 overs without success in England's second Test defeat by Australia at Lord's knocked the confidence of paceman James Anderson who returned to form with a bang on Wednesday.
Australia bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali led England's charge to a 169-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the first Test in Cardiff, on Saturday to make a flying start in their bid to regain the Ashes
Darren Lehmann will groom young talent as part of a National Performance Programme, Cricket Australia announced on Wednesday.
The former India paceman returned with figures of 5-27 as Worcestershire bowled out Northants for 67 in the first innings of the County Championship Division 2 match.
The deposed India captain is due to arrive in Britain on June 15 ahead of his five-week stint in county cricket.
Experienced Australia batsman Chris Rogers has been taking advice from fellow opener David Warner about how to face up to the South African bowling attack ahead of the first Test in Pretoria.
The Indian captain was picked ahead of VVS Laxman and Chris Rogers as the second overseas player by the English county.
The left hander will make his debut for Northants on June 25 in the C and G Trophy limited overs tie against Nottinghamshire.
The former Indian captain will play in the English season for the third time.
Smith scored 144 and 142 in Australia's 251-run win at Edgbaston in his comeback Test after being banned for a year for his involvement in the infamous ball tampering scandal in South Africa.
Chris Rogers and Steve Smith plundered superb centuries to lead Australia to a commanding 337 for one on the first day of the second Ashes Test against England at Lord's on Thursday.
Sunil Gavaskar felt India squandered another opportunity to be in a commanding position after being bowled out for 408 on day two of the second Test against Australia in Brisbane.
Sydney-born Chris Rogers hit a double century for Leicestershire to deny Australia a win before the Ashes series.
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
Younis Khan and Yousuf Youhana steered Pakistan to a five-wicket win over the Australian Prime Minister's XI.
Despite the Indian bowlers working hard to improve their chances of a win in the third Test in Melbourne, Australia finished Day 4 on 261 for seven with Shaun March (62 no out) and Ryan Harris (8 not out) and 326-run lead. Rogers and Shaun Marsh scored fighting fifties to put Australia in a strong position on Monday. Here are the statistical highlights from the day's play.
From bashing big scores to firing back a few choice words at sledging opponents, the captaincy is fitting Australia's Steven Smith well, according to opening batsman Chris Rogers.
Australia were 221 for 4 at close of play, in response to India's 408, on Day 2 of the second Test at the Gabba, on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
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