Hussey disappointed at World Cup scratching

Michael Hussey hoped the selectors would take him to the World Cup in the hope he could play later in the tournament © AFP Enlarge

A disappointed Michael Hussey has said he felt he deserved a chance to prove his fitness at the World Cup instead of being left out of the squad altogether. Hussey and Nathan Hauritz were told on Tuesday they would not be flying to India with the World Cup touring party due to their ongoing injuries, and would be replaced by Callum Ferguson and Jason Krejza.

However, Hussey believed the selectors could have taken him despite his serious hamstring injury, in a similar move to the handling of Andrew Symonds in the 2007 World Cup. Symonds tore his biceps off the bone a month before the tournament in the Caribbean but remained with the squad, and regained his place in the side during the later stages of the triumph.

"The precedent has sort of been set from the last time with Andrew Symonds," Hussey told reporters. "He came in about the third or the fourth game in the previous World Cup and played a really big part in our team, he was an important part of the team.

"I was hoping that would be the same sort of thing for me really - that they'd give me every chance to have a crack at it at least. I thought I could push for the second game and definitely be right for the third game."

The only way that Hussey will now be any part of the World Cup is if another player is ruled out due to injury once the tournament is under way. Hussey said he wished the selectors had given him some more leeway to recover.

"I feel like I maybe deserved that chance to have a bit of a go at it, but they obviously saw differently so it's disappointing," he said. "It probably just shows that you can't look too far ahead. You've just got to try and enjoy every opportunity you get to play for Australia - every tournament, every World Cup, every game that you get. You've got to enjoy every one because it can sort of all end pretty quickly."

The Australians fly out on Wednesday for their title defence, aiming for a fourth consecutive World Cup triumph. Hussey played all 11 games in Australia's 2007 campaign but didn't have much impact, batting only six times for 87 runs at 17.40, as the top order did most of the damage.