Steve Smith insists it's too early to speculate about Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja's hopes of touring South Africa.
Bancroft and Khawaja will both be desperate to post a big score in the fifth Ashes Test that starts on Thursday.
Bancroft scored an unbeaten 82 on Test debut at the Gabba, calmly completing a 10-wicket win for Australia in the Ashes opener. The 25-year-old has since failed to reach 30.
Khawaja has made two half-centuries and a handful of starts this series.
Smith suggested it'd be wrong to say either batsman was under pressure to keep their spot in the XI.
"Not sure. It's too early to say that," skipper Smith said on Test eve.
"They probably haven't had the strongest of summers that they would have liked.
"Watching them play, I think they're batting well.
"It'll be great if they could get a score in this match and help us win this Test."
Australia's touring party for a four-Test series in South Africa is expected to be picked before the next Sheffield Shield round.
It means Joe Burns and other Test aspirants may struggle to mount a compelling case they deserve selection ahead of Khawaja or Bancroft.
"South Africa is still a fair way away, lots can happen between now and then. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Smith said.
Bancroft noted earlier this week that "other people out there in the world can do all that worrying for me, life is too short to worry".
Khawaja laughed off suggestions he was out of form last week in Melbourne, saying it was a "bit bizarre" he was criticised for a lack of fluency on a slow MCG pitch.
"It's Test match cricket, sometimes you're not going to score at a free-flowing rate. It doesn't mean my intent wasn't there," he said.
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