Captain Ricky Ponting expected to lose some senior Australian players this Ashes series but won't ask his other ageing stars when their time might be up.

The retirements of Damien Martyn, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath this series have begun the transitional phase in the Australian side.

Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden will also be nearing the end of their careers over the next year.

Warne and McGrath will play in the fourth Test against England at the MCG, which starts on Tuesday, and then retire from the longer form after the fifth Test in Sydney. McGrath plans to play on until next year's World Cup.

The exits, with more to follow in the not-too-distant future, will create a void of experience in the side, but Ponting said he would not inquire about the retirement plans of other players - or stand in their way when Father Time arrived.

"If you make a decision like that (retirement), which is such a huge decision in your life, you've obviously thought long and hard about it," he said.

"That's the decision they want to make, so I'm not going to stand in the way of that.

"I think all the other guys have still got a lot to offer, so I'd be surprised if any of the other guys really, especially with these two guys going now, I'd be surprised if any more did go."

Ponting admitted he thought before the series began he would lose some players to retirement at some stage during the summer, although he did not think it would be his two champion bowlers.

Warne, 37, told Ponting he was quitting after the third Test win in Perth, while McGrath, 36, told his skipper over breakfast on Saturday.

"This series being the series it was, if we had have won, (with) no more Test cricket for another 12 months after that, you probably would have thought that a couple of guys might have retired," Ponting said.

"We've got a couple, it's just that Warney's not one I thought would retire ... even Glenn I thought would have gone on."

Despite the shock of losing his best bowlers, Ponting was more excited than daunted at what lay ahead.

He said Stuart Clark and Brett Lee would most likely lead the attack in the interim, which left young bowlers like Shaun Tait, Mitchell Johnson and Dan Cullen the chance to make their mark over the next few years.

"There's no doubt we have to look at things and do things slightly differently because you're not going to be able to replace those guys straight away," he said.

"But hopefully we can unearth some guys in the next couple of years that are future champions of the game."

Ponting did not expect his captaincy (25 wins, three losses, five draws) to be greatly tested despite the loss of his main strike weapons.

"What I'll ask of any player in the situation is if there's a time when I need some wickets I'll always go to the best bowlers," he said.

"Perth last week, starting that fourth day after lunch when the partnership was going, you go to McGrath and Warne straight away because you think that McGrath can tie up an end and Warney's a good chance of taking wickets.

"But it's not because it's them two, it's because they're the best bowlers.

"So I'll just have to go to the best bowlers and hopefully they can do what I ask them to do."

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