Shaun and Mitchell Marsh are gone. Peter Handscomb and Aaron Finch too.
In their place, two Queenslanders regain their Test positions and one of the hyped juniors in a generation was the bolter.
When national selector Trevor Hohns took to the stage of the press room under the SCG on Wednesday afternoon, there was plenty to go through.
Below, he answers the biggest questions.
IS WILL PUCOVSKI MENTALLY FIT TO PLAY
"We obviously check on our players these days, we get reports whether it’s Will or whether it’s anyone else," Hohns said. "Medical reports and all reports are that he’s fit and available to play if required.
"[Ensuring he isn't overwhelmed] That’s a management thing and Tim [Whittaaker, CA media manager] will play his part in that. Around the team environment that becomes a management issue; the coach, the team manager and the players. Right now, we don’t have an issue at all.
WILL PUCOVSKI BAT IN THE TOP ORDER?
"The option is certainly there, that’s where he bats for Victoria. In an ideal situation and when the team as a unit is performing very, very well it’s nice to introduce a young player into that middle order."
"At the moment, we’re trying to get together a unit to take us forward for some period of time – we’re certainly looking for stability – so we’ll have to asses that at the time and once the team is announced."
IS SHAUN MARSH'S TEST CAREER OVER?
"Shaun certainly hasn’t done what we would have liked him to have done over the last period, and I’m sure he would say the same thing."
"As far as the Ashes goes, that’s still a little way off. He now has an opportunity in one day cricket to get some form back and then we’ll worry about that when the time comes but the door is certainly not closed."
WHY WERE JOE BURNS AND MATTHEW RENSHAW CHOSEN?
"We’re looking to shore up our top order. There can be no doubts and as Justin Langer quite rightly points out, that’s the engine room. We need that to be strong if we possibly can."
"Joe Burns has a record in Test cricket, he’s scored hundreds and he’s been in good form leading up to when the Big Bash started.
"Matt Renshaw is a very highly-regarded young player. We know he can score a lot of runs, he’s done that in Test cricket.
"He scored a lot of runs in England when he went over there to play County cricket and with the Ashes in mind we thought it was an appropriate time now to get him back in and around the group."
WHICH OF THE TEST SELECTION GAMBLES HAVE COME OFF?
"I have no doubts Marcus Harris has done very well, he really has looked the goods against a very, very strong Indian side – and Indian bowling attack. Probably one of the better Indian bowling attacks we’ve seen out here for quite some time. He has looked the goods as an opening bat."
"Travis head has done reasonably well as a player coming through, we’d like to continue encouraging him.
"Nathan Lyon of course always bowls well for us.
"The fast bowlers, there’s probably been some conjecture about that over the series but they are definitely our three best fast bowlers. I don’t think anybody would argue that. Whether they’re our best unit and operating as our best unit at the moment, I’m sure there’s some improvement that can be had there as well."
WHY WASN'T MATTHEW WADE SELECTED?
"It’s fantastic that he’s scoring a lot of runs. It wasn’t that long ago that he was in our Test squad. He struggled and obviously we dropped him."
"He was playing as a wicket keeper at that stage, he’s playing as a wicket keeper batsman at this stage for Tasmania and it just so happens that we have a wicket keeper batsman in our Test match side now. That’s Tim Paine, who is the captain.
"It’s great to see Matthew scoring some runs but if Matthew wants to be considered as a straight up batsman it would be nice to see him batting up a little bit higher for Tasmania – and that conversation has been had."
WHY WAS GLENN MAXWELL OVERLOOKED AGAIN?
"Glenn hasn’t played Test cricket for us for a while, and I guess right here and now we are wanting him to focus on white ball cricket with the World Cup coming up."
"Obviously, when a position becomes available in the batting line-up, it depends where that position is and the type of player we require. We’ve had several conversations with Glenn about all this and right now he’s just content to focus on one day cricket and white ball cricket. However, he makes it very clear he’d like to play Test cricket for Australia.
"Is it his personality? Absolutely not. There nothing to do with it at all. When we look at teams we obviously take into account a player’s character but I can assure you that’s not a problem whatsoever."
IS MAXWELL OWED AN APOLOGY FOR BEING TOLD TO AVOID A COUNTY CONTRACT IN FAVOUR OF AN AUSTRALIA A CALL-UP? (WHICH NEVER HAPPENED)
"I don’t think so. I’m not sure what the instruction was or who it came from but players are free to make their own decisions on where they play."
"Glenn has chosen to go play County cricket this year – and a lot of that is one day cricket leading up to the World Cup. He’s also not put his name in for the IPL, so that’s all credit to him for doing that. He’s genuinely trying to improve himself and give himself the best opportunity to have some practise leading into the Ashes – if he’s chosen – and leading into the World Cup."
HAVE SELECTORS FINALLY GIVEN UP ON AN ALL-ROUNDER?
"There’s always talk about having an all-rounder in your side, particularly in different conditions. If the all-rounder isn’t performing and you don’t have a good all-rounder, maybe we shouldn’t have one and go back to the stock standard six batsman and four bowlers."
"If you have a match-winning all-rounder they’re like gold. if we can unearth one, that’d be fantastic."
HOW DO SELECTORS TELL PLAYERS WHETHER THEY'RE IN THE TEAM OR NOT?
"The procedure for communicating to players is when we select a side, players are notified by myself whether they are in and those that have been left out of the previous team get notified. They are given a reason; it may well be two or three lines or what have you because I’m upfront and say the truth."
"From there, if there’s any further clarity required we encourage them to either call me back or ask for another meeting, etc, so we can go through it again. We also encourage all the state coaches to encourage their players to give me, or a coach, a call if they want some feedback. There’s an open line of communication. It’s their careers so if they’re unclear about anything we like to think they can get some clarity if they want, and take some ownership of their careers.
"The state talent managers are also encouraged to give us a call, as is the chairman of selectors from the respective state.
"There’s an open line of communication, people are always told why they’ve been left out so there can be no misunderstanding whatsoever. Sometimes, players are disappointed. Sometimes, they may understand, they may not. But there is that open line where they can clarity if they wish.
"We do speak to them on a regular basis."
