Former Australia great Ian Chappell throws his support behind Steve Smith to be the man for Ashes

The easy part of selection is finding someone to omit; the harder task is unearthing a player who might be superior either immediately or at some time in the future.

Following Australia's narrow loss to India in a Test they appeared to have in their grasp, there was a clamour for the omission of Marcus North and Nathan Hauritz and a few tremor-like rumblings about Mike Hussey.

There's no doubt North is on ground as shaky as New Zealand; he has been for some time. That's the lot of a No. 6 six batsman, especially when he makes his debut at a mature age.

One of the many advantages of selecting young players is that if they fail, there's a chance they'll come back later as a stronger player.

Smith bats right-handed and is a far better option as a bowler because he's a genuine leg-spinner and they tend to bamboozle suspicious English batsmen.

Smith isn't quite ready to bat at six in a Test, but that suits Australia because Brad Haddin can handle that task and not only is he right-handed, but he's also extremely good against spinners.

That leaves Hussey. The hyperactive left-hander is a proven performer and as such he's granted more wiggle room at the selection table.

However, if young Callum Ferguson and Usman Khawaja start the first-class season well, then Hussey will want to be performing in the Test series.

So, the selectors have some headaches with the Ashes at stake.

However, they do have options and that's the good news, because finding someone suitable to replace an omitted player is the difficult part.