Dumped Australian opener Matthew Hayden said he had been treated harshly by selectors but vowed to bat his way back into the world champion one-day cricket team.
Speaking after he was left out of the side which beat Pakistan by 18 runs in the opening tri-series final, Hayden said he wanted to remain a part of the Australian team for upcoming tours of both New Zealand and England.
"Obviously when you love playing for Australia as much as I do, it's very disappointing to get dropped," Hayden said.
"I see this personally as a temporary thing. I will make sure that whatever it takes, I will fight my back in."
Australia will play three One-Day Internationals in England starting in July as the lead-up to the five-Test Ashes series.
But before then comes a series of five one-day clashes in New Zealand — starting on February 19 — leading into a three-Test series and the selectors will decide over the next few days whether Hayden is to be included.
"I've definitely made that very clear, that I certainly want to be a part of the next little phase of cricket," Hayden said.
"We've got some incredibly important cricket coming up. The Mt Everest, which was seemingly India, has now become England.
{{/usCountry}}"We've got some incredibly important cricket coming up. The Mt Everest, which was seemingly India, has now become England.
{{/usCountry}}"As I've said all along, I want to be a part of that."
Asked if he had been treated harshly by selectors, Hayden replied: "Probably harshly, yeah. But it's their call, they've made it and they have to live by it.
"In my experience, all I can possibly do is offer them a platter of runs. If it means I have to be number two or number one in the world to get back in, fine."
Hayden's axing came despite the public support of captain Ricky Ponting who had argued he retain the opening position ahead of Michael Clarke, the precocious 23-year-old who normally plays further down the order.