They may not be familiar to the public right now, but by the end of September the chances are that these Australians will have become household names.

Gone are McGrath, Warne, Langer, Hayden and Gilchrist. In have come Hauritz, Hilfenhaus, Hughes, Manou and Siddle.

The 16-man party that Australia named today for this summer's Ashes series contains 11 players who have never toured these shores before.

Only four - skipper Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Simon Katich and vice-captain Michael Clarke - have ever played a Test in England.

Yet this is Australia. A team that quickly recovered from losing the dramatic series to Michael Vaughan's team 2-1 in 2005 to thrash England 5-0 just 18 months later.

Ponting, the most experienced player on tour with 131 Test caps, is in no doubt that the players selected can retain the Ashes Urn and he warned England that beating a tame West Indies team 2-0 will be not prepare them for the real challenge to come.

He said: "I don't really think inexperience is a great hurdle for us at all. We went to South Africa with a less experienced, but we won the series 2-1, and we've got an extra three Test matches into some of these guys now.

"England have obviously done everything very well in these last two Test matches against West Indies, but I can guarantee that they'll be facing a stiffer opposition when we arrive.

"England will be very tough opposition, as they always are when we play against them. The last series in Australia was a 5-0 win for us, but it could've been very different had we not done some exceptional things.

"In 2005, we got off to a great start in that series and then things just slipped away from us from there. We've learned from our mistakes and we're keen to rectify them.

"There's one thing on my cricketing resume that hasn't been achieved yet and that's being captain of a winning Ashes team in England. That's something very dear to my heart."

The one big decision that the Australian selectors had to make was whether to take the controversial all-rounder Andrew Symonds on tour.

Symonds, whose career over the last 12 months has been blighted by injuries and off-field problems, has been overlooked in favour of Andrew McDonald and Shane Watson - even though Ponting had indicated yesterday that he expected Symonds to be named for the five Test series that starts in Glamorgan on 8 July.

The decision to do without Symonds's destructive batting and useful bowling is certainly a surprise - despite the 33-year-old's disciplinary problems.

He chose to go fishing rather than attend a team meeting before a one-dayer against Bangladesh last August, and was banned from the tour to South Africa earlier this year following a radio interview in which he made disparaging remarks about New Zealand wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.

He was also suspended for turning up drunk before Australia's embarrassing loss to Bangladesh in a one-day game during the 2005 Ashes tour.

Ponting added: "Andrew will be disappointed. When he went out of the team last year what it did was create opportunities for others."

The selectors have instead put their faith in the injury-prone Watson.

He said: "I am really stoked that I have been given an opportunity over Andrew. It's been a bit of a battle, I replaced him during last year's Indian tour and then missed out during the summer here for the first few Tests.

"Of course, it's bitter-sweet because I love the opportunity of playing Test cricket for Australia and you feel for one of your mates if he doesn't get picked. But I will definitely be making the most of it and having a lot of fun."

One player who was always certain to feature was opener Phillip Hughes, who has been hugely impressive this season batting for Middlesex.

The 20-year-old scored 415 runs at an average of 69 in three Tests in South Africa before heading to England for a stint with Middlesex, where he has scored 882 runs in 13 innings.