A man wearing an Australian cricket uniform is among 60 asylum seekers who have arrived on Christmas Island today.

The group were rescued off Java on Thursday when the boat they were on got into trouble in the Indonesian search and rescue zone.

Australia asked Jakarta to transfer the asylum seekers to Indonesia, but the ABC understands that request was refused.

The group has now arrived on Christmas Island, with footage showing mostly men, including one dressed in an Australian one-day cricket uniform who identified himself as a fast bowler.

It is believed the group will be moved into offshore processing on Nauru or Manus Island.

The group included two women, according to a source on Christmas Island.

Leader of Government Business Christopher Pyne says the asylum seekers will never set foot in Australia.

"The message is out there. Boats have been turned back," he told Channel 10.

"Sometimes it won't work that way and those people who will come to Christmas Island will go straight to Manus Island or Nauru and they will never set foot in this country."