Half the squad may never play again: Ponting

Ricky Ponting expects Australia to experience a significant change in personnel in the wake of an Ashes defeat that was all but confirmed on Friday.

The former Test skipper has predicted up to eight members of Australia's touring party - almost half the squad - will never play Test cricket again after this series.

The 40-year-old has nominated Ryan Harris (who has already retired), Chris Rogers (who is set to retire after this series), Brad Haddin and Shane Watson as some of the players he believes will make way at the end of the series.

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He stopped short of naming the other four players he believes may be discarded.

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"I had a bit of a think about the squad to plan ahead and think about the future and ... I thought there could be eight guys who might not ever play Test cricket again in this touring squad," Ponting said.

"Rogers is retiring. Harris has already retired. You'd think it'd be hard for Haddin to get back in now at his age.

"You could probably say the same things about Watson - is Watson going to get back in at his age? I'd like to think so because I still think he's got some good cricket ahead of him."

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No doubt aware of the potential headlines that could be created if he named any more names, Ponting then added with a smile: "There are a few others - that might do me."

Australia have a 17-man squad in the UK for this series, with young fast-bowler Pat Cummins called in on the eve of the first Test after Harris was forced into retirement due to injury.

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Ten members of the initial squad - which has been labelled 'Dad's Army' by former Test quick Jason Gillespie - are aged over 30; Haddin, Harris, Rogers, Watson, Michael Clarke, Fawad Ahmed, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Peter Siddle and Adam Voges.

"There are couple of guys in there - guys like Haddin and Siddle and those guys - you would have thought if Siddle was ever going to play he was going to play this game (at Trent Bridge)," Ponting told ESPN.

"And he as much as said that to me the other morning actually."

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While Ponting has suggested age may play a significant role in future planning, recent selections prove that this is not necessarily always the case.

The selection of Chris Rogers in 2013 at the age of 35 has proven to be a highly successful move, while Voges made his Test debut against the West Indies in June when also aged 35.

Mike Hussey, who didn't make his Test debut until he was 30, is another example of a player succeeding when given a chance late in his career.

In his column penned before this week's first Test, Clarke himself echoed the belief that age is irrelevant and reaffirmed his strong desire to continue playing beyond the current series.

"I have no intention to walk away from cricket," Clarke wrote in News Corp.

"Chris Rogers waited until 35 years of age to play his second Test.

"I’m 34 not 37 and I want to keep playing for Australia beyond this series, however I will be judged on performance like everyone else."

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Johnson, who has largely bowled well without luck during this series, hinted this week that he might consider retirement if he could match Dennis Lillee's career record of 355 Test wickets.

Based on his career average of 4.36 wickets per Test, Johnson should - fitness and selection permitting - surpass Lillee's mark on Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in July and August next year, when he'll be 34.

While there are several senior members in the squad, the remainder of the touring party are expected to be mainstays of the Australian XI for many years to come.

Captain-in-waiting Steve Smith (26) and opening batsman David Warner (28) have been certain selections for some time, as has spinner Nathan Lyon (27), while young quicks Mitchell Starc (25), Josh Hazlewood (24) and Cummins (22) offer positive signs for the future of fast-bowling.

Watch: Starc provides solace for Australia (restrictions apply)

Test rookie Peter Nevill (29) has impressed behind the stumps since taking the wicketkeeping gloves from Haddin, while Mitchell Marsh (24) has long been regarded as a star in the making and is prominent in a group of young allrounders on the rise that includes James Faulkner, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis.

Australia's next Test assignment after the Ashes is a two-match series in Bangladesh before home Tests against New Zealand and West Indies.

Australia's Ashes squad: Michael Clarke(c), Fawad Ahmed, Pat Cummins, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Peter Nevill, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Voges, David Warner, Shane Watson

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