Casson confident he can fight back

Beau Casson has not given up hope of adding to his one Test cap despite being overlooked for Cameron White as the late spin call-up for Australia's squad in India. Casson made his debut in the West Indies but the selectors preferred Bryce McGain, Jason Krejza and White for the India trip.

"You always want to be the No. 1 whatever you do, whether it's bowling, batting or fielding," Casson told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I have still got a hell of a lot of work to get there, and I'm still very optimistic to get there. Hopefully I can start sending the ball down well and add to my one Test, which I thoroughly enjoyed."

Casson, a left-arm wrist-spinner, picked up three wickets in the Test in Barbados and, unlike McGain and Krejza, holds a Cricket Australia contract. However, the selectors were keen to have a right-arm legspinner and an offspinner in India, so while White joins the squad in Bangalore as a replacement for the injured McGain, Casson will be playing Sheffield Shield cricket against Western Australia in Perth.

"I would love to be in India but it wasn't meant to be," he said. "[The selectors] have decided to go with a combination they think will be successful over there."

The decision to add White to the squad was unexpected as he has developed into a batting allrounder whose legspin is used mostly as a backup for Victoria. He bowled only 84 overs during the last Pura Cup season and collected six wickets, although the selectors said they were impressed by his recent one-day form with Australia A in India, where he was the second leading wicket-taker in the tri-series.

Michael Hussey said White would be a strong addition to the squad. "In previous years he was probably more of a batsman who could help out with the ball," Hussey said.

"But watching him work out in Darwin against Bangladesh and seeing some of the results against India A in India, he seems like he's really improved his bowling and is getting a lot more confidence with it. That's got to be a good sign for our team."

However, the former Test legspinner and spin coach Terry Jenner was struggling to understand why Casson had been ignored. He said White for McGain, who was sent home due to a lingering shoulder problem, was not a like-for-like swap.

"Bryce McGain wasn't going to bowl medium-pace leggies," Jenner said in the Age. "I am at a bit of a loss because I go back to what his mentor David Hookes always said, that Cameron was only ever going to play for Australia as a batsman who could bowl a few overs. I don't think much has changed since then, even though he tries his heart out."