Some experienced Australian cricketers will be holding on to their baggy green caps this week when the Test party for the tour of England this summer is announced. Darren Lehmann, 35, and Stuart MacGill, 34, could both find themselves seeking alternative employment between early July and early September.

Lehmann, who was ruled out of the New Zealand tour by a shoulder injury, looks certain to be left out. If he is, he may announce his retirement from international cricket. More immediately, he might sign to play the season with Yorkshire. They have kept open an overseas vacancy and he has served them well in the past.

Simon Katich, who took Lehmann’s place in the side, scored a century in the first Test in Christchurch, and as reserve batsman the selectors may prefer to take to England somebody younger and with more of a future than Lehmann. Brad Hodge, 30, went to New Zealand in that capacity and may be retained.

MacGill may also find himself the victim of youth. Whoever is chosen behind Shane Warne as second spinner in the party behind Warne is unlikely to have much to do with the Ashes series other than carry drinks, so it would make sense to take along a youngster who would benefit from the experience. Australia usually pick one wild card for an England tour; in 2001 it was the uncapped fast bowler Nathan Bracken, and this time it could either be another rookie quick, Shaun Tait, or the off-spinner Daniel Cullen, who recently enjoyed a sensational first season in the Pura Cup (formerly the Sheffield Shield) by taking 43 wickets at 30.4 each in 10 matches at the tender age of 20.

Terry Jenner, who once mentored Warne and is doing the same for Cullen, is impressed. “Besides being a prodigious spinner of the ball, he has a good technique, bowls an attacking line and length, is capable of subtle changes of pace, mixes aggression with patience and is an extremely hard worker,” he said. “The fact he took his wickets in a struggling SA side, and the manner in which he claimed them, was also important.”

MacGill has a wonderful record. His 160 wickets in 33 Tests have come at a better strike-rate (54.5) than Warne (59.3), whom he has several times outbowled when they have played together. MacGill, too, has just completed an outstanding Pura Cup season with New South Wales. He took 54 wickets at 24.7, although it was his batting that helped them win the final last week over Queensland, as he and Bracken, the final pair, knocked off the last 22 runs to complete a thrilling win.

However, Warne does not like bowling with him, and MacGill has a reputation as a difficult tourist. Difficult often simply means different. MacGill is certainly that, and Australia have not often called on him for overseas duty. He was not brought to England four years ago, when Colin Miller, primarily an offie though he also bowled other styles during a peripatetic career, was Warne’s understudy.

The knowledge of English conditions and batsmen that MacGill gained during three seasons with Nottinghamshire would be more appreciated in a less seasoned team. As it is, every one of Australia’s first-choice Test XI — the XI on duty in Auckland this weekend — has toured or played county cricket in England before. With an average age of almost 32, it is hardly wanting for experience.

Although he admits he would be devastated to be left out, MacGill is unlikely to retire from internationals without giving himself at least one more home season. When the time comes, though, he has a second career in wine awaiting him, and by the time he takes it up, Cullen might even be old enough to want to follow his recommendations.

Whoever takes Warne’s place once he retires is a matter greatly exercising Australia, even if Warne shows no sign yet of wanting to up sticks and settle permanently in Hampshire. But, for what it is worth at this distance out, Cullen’s star is rising as those of others fall. Nathan Hauritz has slipped off the radar since losing Australia a Test on a dustbowl in Bombay last November, while Cameron White, a leggie from Victoria, appears to be concentrating on his batting.

The other main talking point ahead of the announcement, which is expected soon after the Test in Auckland finishes, will be which fast bowler goes in support of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Brett Lee, who is sure to tour despite having not made the final Test XI for more than a year.

Working in the South Australia attack alongside Cullen, Tait, 22, has presented a strong case. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Pura Cup with 65 scalps at 20.2 each, but could lose out if the Australian selectors remain convinced Shane Watson, 23, has the makings of a Test allrounder. Watson, who has played for Hampshire, has a lot of admirers and is reportedly bowling sharply, but he has sometimes looked innocuous with the ball in his hand.

Meanwhile, McGrath has restored himself to No 1 in Australia’s player rankings on which their pay is based — in McGrath’s case about £200,000 — for the next 12 months. One complication ahead of the Ashes tour is that Cricket Australia is negotiating with the Australian Cricketers’ Association about the precise pay levels that will come into effect from July 1.

Australia’s first-class programme in England begins on July 15, with the first Test at Lord’s on July 21. They play four three-day matches against counties and five Tests ending on September 12.

Several counties will be waiting on news of the tour party. Hodge, formerly the Leicestershire captain, has signed to play for Lancashire, David Hussey for Notts and Mike Hussey, his brother and another batting contender, to lead Durham.

Probable squad: R Ponting (captain), M Hayden, J Langer, D Martyn, M Clarke, S Katich, B Hodge, A Gilchrist, B Haddin, S Warne, S MacGill or D Cullen, S Watson or S Tait, B Lee, J Gillespie, M Kasprowicz, G McGrath.