Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh says Brad Haddin understood he was not being rested from one-day duty after a poor Test series against India and selectors could have handled his omission better.
Haddin was left out for the first three matches of the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka, with chairman of selector John Inverarity citing the need for the player to be "rested" for future international duties.
But he was overlooked again in a 14-man squad named this week for the next two matches against Sri Lanka on Friday and India on Sunday, sparking accusations from former and current players of mixed messages from the selection panel.
His replacement Matt Wade has retained his spot in the squad after scoring 1 and 16 in his two most recent matches, following a match-winning half-century on his one-day debut against India in the series opener in Melbourne.
Marsh says Haddin, at least, is aware of where he stood.
"He told me they had communicated with him that they wanted to try out Matthew Wade," Marsh said.
"It seems a lot of the talk stemmed from the 'resting' line.
"From a player's perspective, we're satisfied that it was handled OK. It could have been handled better from a public perspective."
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh described Haddin's "enforced rest" as confusing, while the wicketkeeper's team-mate Shane Watson saying he felt sorry for him about being in "limbo".
Asked if he thought Haddin was right to assume he had been dropped, Ricky Ponting was characteristically candid.
"I think that's a fair assessment," he said.
Local media have lined up to criticise the newly-minted selection panel, which replaced the previous one led by Andrew Hilditch last year following a team performance review.
The Argus review, launched in the wake of Australia's humiliating 3-1 loss in the Ashes series to England on home soil last year, criticised the former panel for confusing selection decisions and for failing to make adequate succession planning.
Haddin will play a domestic Sheffield Shield match for New South Wales this week as he strives to regain his spot in the team.
Reuters
Tags: sport, cricket, australia First posted February 16, 2012 19:15:15
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