David Hussey's future as an international player appears bleak after the veteran was dumped from an Australian squad for the second time this week.
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The 35-year-old lost his place in Australia's 13-man squad to Victorian teammate Aaron Finch for the first two matches of the one-day international series against the West Indies in Perth.
The dumping on Friday was a bitter blow for Hussey, who had been harbouring hopes of replacing his brother Michael in the Test side for the tour of India.
Instead, he now faces an uncertain future, having been dropped earlier in the week from Australia's Twenty20 team, and must also be considered an outsider for a ticket to the subcontinent.
Ominously for Hussey, his age appears to have been a factor in his axing for the 26-year-old Finch.
"A top four of [David] Warner, Finch, [Phillip] Hughes and [Michael] Clarke has good balance and the team looks forward to getting better starts than has been the case recently," said the chairman of selectors, John Inverarity.
"David Hussey has been dropped from the squad as the NSP [National Selection Panel] keeps a constant eye on the future."
Hussey has also paid a price for the failure of Australia's frontline batsmen during games two to four of the recent series against Sri Lanka.
The explosive right-hander made 128 runs at an average of 32 in the five-game series, although did himself no favours by being run out twice.
"There were concerns, however, with the team's batting performances during the series when the conditions were conducive to swing bowling, conditions that were beautifully exploited by Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga," Inverarity said.
There was no recall for Michael Hussey, who was not handed a farewell for the matches in his home town.
Skipper Michael Clarke has kept his place in the squad after missing Wednesday's game in Hobart due to an ankle injury, but selectors left out James Pattinson and Shane Watson, who are returning from injury.
"Michael Clarke is making steady progress with the ankle he injured on 22 January and we are confident that Michael will recover in time to be fit for the first of the ODI fixtures against the West Indies on 1 February," Inverarity said.
"James Pattinson came under consideration for this squad but, at the time of the selection meeting, he had not bowled a ball in interstate or international cricket since 24 November. It is anticipated that James will go to Perth to practice with the squad.
"Shane Watson has been making pleasing progress in recent weeks. He is planning on playing for his Sydney club tomorrow and will be available for selection for NSW Ryobi One-Day Cup fixture against Western Australia on 30 January."
In what could be a sign of things to come for the tour of India, Moises Henriques and Xavier Doherty, along with Phillip Hughes, were highlighted for praise by Inverarity for their performances in Hobart.
Squad: Michael Clarke (c), George Bailey, Ben Cutting, Xavier Doherty, Aaron Finch, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
