James' Cup hopes hang in balance

Seasoned allrounder James Hopes fears his World Cup dream is in grave danger after receiving a surprise scare by the national selectors at the last hurdle.

His omission from Australia's 15-man one-day squad to play Sri Lanka has disheartened a stunned Hopes and sparked an angry response from his Queensland coach Trevor Barsby.

Barsby on Wednesday attacked the selection panel for their treatment of the 32-year-old. 

"I was told they had gone with just the two all-rounders in Shane Watson and Steve Smith and they didn't see a need for this series to carry a third," he told AAP.

Hopes is likely to be included in a 30-man preliminary squad next month but Australia don't play any more 50-over cricket before their final 15-man World Cup squad is announced by January 19.

His 75 one-day appearances since the 2007 World Cup exceed the combined total of Lee (36), Ferguson (25) and Warner (7) in the same period.

In 84 ODIs, he has scored 1326 runs at an average of 25, with an impressive strike-rate of 93, batting largely at No.7 or 8.

With the ball, the medium-pacer took 67 wickets at 35.58 with an economy rate of 4.53 per over, often bowling at or near the death.

"I would be disgusted if, after having done everything that has been asked of him in the Australian side - whether that be opening the batting, opening the bowling, closing out the innings at No.6 or 7 or bowling at the death - that they would even think of discarding him like this," he said.

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.