Injury rules out five Australia players from 1st NZ Test

Australia will be without five players for next week's first Test against New Zealand after they failed to overcome injuries, Cricket Australia said, on Friday.

All-rounder Shane Watson (hamstring), fast bowlers Pat Cummins (heel), Ryan Harris (pelvis) and Mitchell Johnson (toe), and batsman Shaun Marsh (back) have all been ruled out of the match starting on December 1 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

"We unfortunately suffered some injuries during the recent test series against South Africa," general manager for team performance Pat Howard said.

"With such a short turnaround time between series, five players who were involved in the series will not fully recover in time to play the first ... Test against New Zealand."