MacGill has taken 198 wickets in 40 Test matches

MacGill, 35, has always played second fiddle to Warne but Andrew Hilditch, Australia's chairman of selectors, said he was the obvious replacement.

"We've been really lucky to have had MacGill," said Hilditch.

"He's going to come into contention at the start of the next series. If he's fit and bowling well, he is obviously the person to look for."

Despite Warne's dominance MacGill has still managed to play 40 Tests and taken 198 wickets.

But he was left out of the fifth Ashes Test at the spin-friendly Sydney Cricket Ground, prompting speculation his international career might be over.

Hilditch, though, said MacGill was only overlooked because of the outstanding form of Australia's three seamers, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark, and the inclusion of all-rounder Andrew Symonds.

"The reason Stuart didn't play was because we wanted to go with the three-pronged pace attack, which was really instrumental in us regaining the Ashes," Hilditch said.

"England has a far better batting side than they showed and that's because of our bowling."

Two young spinners Australia are grooming are South Australians Dan Cullen, 22, and Cullen Bailey, 21, who are both under the tutelage of Shane Warne's mentor Terry Jenner.

Cullen has played in one Test, against Bangladesh, and although Bailey's talent is evident he is still very raw.