David Hussey clings to Test dreams

David Hussey has not given up on his ambition of playing Test cricket, despite losing his Cricket Australia contract during the off-season. Although the incumbent Test No. 6 Marcus North is wobbling, time is against Hussey, who at 33 is already three years older than his brother Michael was when he made his long-awaited Test debut back in 2005.

But while younger men such as Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson are on the selection panel's radar, Hussey continues to pile up runs at domestic level. He was the leading run scorer in the Sheffield Shield last summer and he hopes that if he can repeat the effort this season he might make the selectors think again.

"I still think there's a massive opportunity to play Test cricket and one-day cricket for Australia," Hussey told ESPNcricinfo. "I've done reasonably well in Twenty20 cricket so hopefully that stands me in good stead for one-day selection. In terms of Test cricket, all I can do is keep making runs and hopefully become the leading run scorer in Sheffield Shield cricket again."

Despite a formidable first-class record of more than 11,000 runs at an average in the mid-50s, Hussey is often pigeon-holed as a limited-overs specialist. It's a description he has always disliked, although for the time being Twenty20 is the only format in which he is part of Australia's side.

However, Hussey's most recent one-day international appearance resulted in a century against Scotland last August, and he is hopeful of a return to the 50-over squad. He is one of several fringe ODI batsmen aiming for a place in Australia's World Cup title defence next February, after he was a key player in helping Australia reach the ICC World Twenty20 final earlier this year.

"It's the ultimate in one-day cricket, playing against the best in a World Cup," Hussey said. "For me, I desperately want to be part of it. I've never been part of a World Cup before, so I know I want to put every foot right to gain selection."