Resting Gilchrist told to tour New Zealand

Adam Gilchrist's plans for a week off with the backing of the selectors were over-ruled by Cricket Australia when he was named vice-captain for the Chappell-Hadlee Series. Trevor Hohns' panel wanted Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath to miss the New Zealand one-day tour to rest ahead of the three-Test South Africa series, but CA refused to allow the request for fear of devaluing the second-year concept.

The Courier-Mail reported a CA spokesman said the organisation had a responsibility to uphold the integrity of the series but the details of the selection process were confidential. There was also a tight-lipped response in The Australian.

"All I'm going to say is the 13 there is the 13 we've named," the spokesman told the paper. "There was a process leading up to the finalisation of that 13 which included a whole series of issues around form, injury, player workload, the need to have an elite team of a standard befitting the status of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy."

The squad is currently in a streak of 12 Tests and 25 ODIs and the selectors were hopeful of resting the two key players, but while McGrath is in Sydney Gilchrist will be the only gloveman in the squad. The first match of the series is at Auckland on December 3 with games at Wellington and Christchurch on December 7 and 10. Australia face three Tests against South Africa from December 16 before the VB Series, which also involves Sri Lanka, and a tour to South Africa starting in February.