Henriques left confused by Ashes Test squad snub

Moises Henriques disagreed with George Bailey when informed of his remarkable slide down the Test pecking order, but the allrounder says he appreciated the chief selector's honesty.

Henriques was arguably the most notable omission from Australia's Test squad and a list of Australia A players named by Bailey's panel earlier this month.

Of the 19-player group set to tour South Africa earlier this year, Henriques, James Pattinson (retired) and Will Pucovski (concussion) are the only members who weren't invited to an Ashes bootcamp in Brisbane.

Henriques, who is gearing up to lead Sydney Sixers at the SCG on Sunday as they shoot for a third straight KFC BBL title, hasn't given hope of extending his four-Test career.

"I have a different view to what the selectors do," the 34-year-old said.

"To be picked on one Test tour and be told that I was there and thereabouts to be playing on that tour, then the next Test tour rolls around and you're not in the best 25.

"It's a huge fall, considering I hadn't played any other four-day games or (Sheffield) Shield games in that break.

"I didn't agree with the process of it all.

"I didn't really understand the logic.

"But it's not my job to understand the logic either.

"It's just my job to go out and keep playing as well as I can."

Henriques only marked his red-ball return in the recent Marsh Sheffield Shield match against Victoria at the SCG, at which point teammates Nathan Lyon and Sean Abbott were already quarantining in Queensland in preparation for the Vodafone Ashes warm-up matches.

The veteran did not play any Shield matches for NSW before the two squads were announced as he delayed his return from the IPL in the UAE to avoid hotel quarantine.

Henriques played the last of his Tests for Australia against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2016 and appears to have been overtaken by Nic Maddinson and Matt Renshaw in the current Australia A set-up.

"I still believe if I score enough runs, keep banging the door down and keep doing what I know I can do well, then I'll still play another Test match for Australia," Henriques said.

Bailey, the national selection panel chair, also said Henriques hopes of adding to his four Tests he played between 2013 and 2016 were not dashed as he was a proven performer at international level.

"It's just unfortunate we haven't been able to see him play any cricket up until this point and knowing the Victorians and New South Welshmen have had to join that quarantine bubble (in Queensland)," Bailey said after the Ashes and A squads were announced earlier this month.

"I've been in good contact with Mo (Henriques) and he knows that not being here, certainly as part of the A squad, is not necessarily the end for him.

"We know he's a quality player and he's been particularly consistent, but I guess it's a slight difference of our Ashes focus of trying to win the here and now versus the balance of the Australia A game."

Henriques also made it clear he had no complains with communication from selectors over his snub from the Test squad and said there had been a "lot of communication" between him and former teammate Bailey.

"I obviously have a lot of respect for him as a person first and foremost," he said.

"It also means we're not going to always agree, and it's completely fine.

"That's a good sign of a good working relationship, when you can both air what you think.

"You don't necessarily agree, but you both understand that is OK, we've got to move forward.

"There was nothing offensive said from either party ... I don't think any less of him and hopefully he doesn't think any less of me.

"Even when he's delivering bad news ... he's been honest and told me his point of view."

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium