Brad Hodge and Andrew Symonds will play in Thursday's second cricket Test against the West Indies but Australian captain Ricky Ponting has delayed a decision on the final spot between Stuart MacGill and Nathan Bracken.
Ponting on Wednesday confirmed that batsman Hodge will make his Test debut at Bellerive Oval, while all-rounder Symonds gets a recall to play his third Test.
Hodge, who battered the tourists' bowling attack with 177 for Victoria last week, comes in as a straight swap for deposed batsman Simon Katich, hoping to consolidate his place in the Australian team with another big score.
Australia, thumping 379-run winners over the struggling tourists in last week's first Gabba Test, are expected to clinch the best-of-three Test series in Hobart and Ponting has strengthened the batting with the inclusion of Symonds in the absence of injured all-rounder Shane Watson.
"If he (Symonds) comes in and plays as well as we know he can play then he would be someone who would be pretty hard to leave out of your side going forward," Ponting said.
"We know how good a cricketer he can be and we have all seen that in domestic cricket and in his one-day cricket for Australia as well."
Symonds last played for Australia in Sri Lanka in March last year, scoring just 53 runs at 13.25, and further blotted his copybook by turning up reeking of alcohol before a one-day international against Bangladesh in England this year for which he was dropped and fined.
But Ponting said a decision has been delayed whether Australia would go into the second Test with spinner MacGill partnering Shane Warne, or whether left-arm seamer Nathan Bracken would be retained after taking four West Indian wickets in Brisbane.
Ponting said a final decision on the last spot would be made on the morning of the match.
"We just want a bit more of a think about it and probably a sleep on it tonight with Bracken and MacGill," the skipper said. "One of those two guys will play and one won't."
Selectors are aware that the West Indies have shown a distaste for facing leg-spin.
Warne, Test cricket's leading wicket-taker, has captured 54 wickets in 17 Tests against the West Indies at 30.18, while MacGill has 48 in 12 Tests at 31.89.
Overall, MacGill has snared 169 wickets in 34 Tests at 27.78, averaging five wickets a match. At his most recent bowling performance at Bellerive, for New South Wales against Tasmania last season, he claimed 6-85 in the second innings.
While Australia have the luxury of being in two minds as to who to leave out of a winning side, there are rumblings in the West Indies camp going into the Hobart Test.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul's uncertain captaincy is again under the spotlight and on Wednesday he was joined at his match-eve press conference by the team's Australian coach Bennett King.
The 31-year-old Guyanese batsman became skipper this year after being one of the few leading players not involved in a bitter contract dispute between players and the West Indian Cricket Board.
Chanderpaul was asked by reporters whether he felt he had the full support of his team-mates.
King interjected: "From my perspective he has recouped very well and rallied the guys well.
King expected Australia to play two spinners but refused to give any indications of the make-up of his team for the match.
All-rounder Dwayne Bravo is likely to come into the team to strengthen the lower order batting.
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