Australian captain Ricky Ponting will bypass a rare opportunity to represent Tasmania in Saturday's one-day cricket match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval.
While fellow Australian players Darren Lehmann and Jason Gillespie will suit up for the Redbacks, and New South Wales will boast Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich for Sunday's match against Victoria, Ponting opted to rest up ahead of the New Zealand tour.
"The demands on Ricky during the international season have been very heavy and as the Australian captain he obviously has the desire to represent his country in as many matches as possible," Ponting's manager Sam Halverson said.
"While he would like to play for his home team, this weekend is the only opportunity he has of taking a well-earned break prior to the six-week tour of New Zealand, to be followed by preparations for the demanding Ashes tour to England."
Tasmanian Cricket Association chief executive David Johnston said he was disappointed Ponting was unavailable, but understood the decision.
"We are justifiably proud of Ricky and his accomplishments and while we would have liked him to play for the Tigers, we understand that his duty to the Australian Team must take precedence," Johnston said.
"Ricky has just completed a heavy schedule of Tests and one-day internationals and is one of the very few players not having a break (from playing for Australia) this season."
The match is important to the Tigers, who are in second spot on the ING Cup table, but will miss the final if they lose to SA and Victoria beats the Blues.