Save for two remarkable exceptions, Andrew Symonds can learn plenty from the batsmen around him about turning a recall into a permanent spot in the Australian Test team.

Symonds was elevated into the Test squad for the third time, when Australia confirmed the allrounder would play against England in the third Ashes Test, starting on Thursday at the WACA Ground.

Symonds admitted this week he was worried he would never add to his 10 Tests after modest results with both bat and ball over the past two-and-a-half years, but his third coming gives him a gilt-edged chance to make the spot his own.

He shouldn't have any trouble finding inspiration.

Justin Langer could not be sure of his Test spot for a decade after his debut, while it took his opening partner Matthew Hayden seven years to feel assured of his place.

Michael Clarke, who will bat at No.5 in the reshuffled line-up following Damien Martyn's retirement, has come good after a spell out of the Test team following his glorious start in 2004.

Rising star Mike Hussey, who will bat at No.4 this Test, and keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, who has played 87 consecutive matches, are the exceptions given their remarkable achievements.

Even captain Ricky Ponting, currently the best batsman in the world, felt the sharp blade of the selection axe despite his prodigious talent, when he was dropped after his sixth Test.

Ponting is confident Symonds can better manage his emotions in his 11th Test than he had in the past, when his performances suffered when he clammed up.

"Once he gets out there in the middle - when he's batting especially - he'll be nervous, but he's got to keep that all in check once he's out there," Ponting said.

"He can give us a lot out in the field, but he's learned a lot from the last times he's been in the team.

"He might not have handled those emotions as well as he could.

"It's a learning process for all of us. I was there a few times as well, being in and out of the team a few times early in my career, and Michael Clarke has been a bit the same.

"Most of us have been through that. The more you do that, the more you learn about yourself. Symmo should be able to handle it better than he has done in the past."

Similarly, Ponting also had some timely advice for West Australian Adam Voges, who was overlooked.

Ponting told Voges to resist the temptation of going back to domestic cricket and trying too hard to get back into the national squad.

The Australian skipper did that in 1996-97 when he managed only a trickle of runs instead of the torrent he craved playing for Tasmania.

"When you get dropped from the Australian team, I remember going back and trying to make things happen really quickly and get back in the team, but it doesn't work that way," he said.

"The harder you try, the worse off it can often be.

"It's just important for him to go back and be the same person and the same player in the WA squad, and I'm sure you'll see his name in the Australian squad down the track."

If Symonds produces his best at No.6 and bowling medium pace and offspin, he will give himself a strong chance of keeping hold of the allrounder's spot given Shane Watson's inability to play regularly through injury.

Watson's hamstring strain has kept him out of the first three Tests, although he hopes to be available for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

If things go Symonds' way in Perth though, Watson might struggle to force his way in.

"If Symmo does happen to do well, which we all hope he does, it's going to make it a tough one for selectors," Ponting said.

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