Australia pulled a 138-year first Sunday by omitting a spinner for a Sydney Cricket Ground test, with skipper Steve Smith saying he had been backed into a corner.
Not since 1888 have the hosts neglected to play a frontline slow bowler at the storied venue, once considered the country's spin haven.
But with allrounder Beau Webster selected for the fifth and final Ashes test against England and Todd Murphy overlooked, the unprecedented run was broken.
"Hate doing it," said Smith.
"But if we keep producing wickets that we don't think are going to spin and seam is going to play a big part and cracks are going to play a big part, you kind of get pushed into a corner."
Beau Webster returns to the XI as Australia opt against picking a frontline spinner in Sydney for the first time in 138 years.
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It is becoming a trend in Australia with the home side overlooking veteran Nathan Lyon for the pink-ball second test in Brisbane before his injury replacement Murphy's non-selection in Melbourne and Sydney.
In Sydney, England also failed to play their top spinner Shoaib Bashir for a fifth straight game, meaning he will return home having not bowled a ball in a test in Australia.
Just nine wickets have been taken by spinners across the first four tests of the series, from a fraction of the total overs bowled.
Speaking in Melbourne after a seam-friendly fourth test ended inside two days, Smith elaborated on why spinners were not being used.
"With a lot of the wickets we're playing on now, I think spin ... is the easiest thing to face," he said.
"On some of these wickets that are offering a lot of seam, it's almost got to the point where (you ask): 'Why would you bowl it when you know you could leak 30 or 40 runs quickly if they decide to play positively and the game shifts immediately?'
"I love seeing spinners play a part in the game, but right now, why would you?"
Assistant Australia coach Dan Vettori, a former New Zealand captain and renowned spinner, said he did not think it was a trend that would continue indefinitely.
"I think it's probably just the point in time, I don't think it's going to be something that's going to continue on for years on end," he said.
"I think spin bowling is incredibly important to test matches. I think people love watching it when it's at its absolute best, and when conditions can suit and assist the spin bowler.
"But we're just in the stage now where that's not the case, but I wouldn't be surprised that it changed in the future."