Australian star opening batsman Matthew Hayden has been left out of the squad for the forthcoming T20 and one-day international series against South Africa. Hayden, who endured a wretched run of form this summer, aggregated a dismal total of 149 runs in 9 innings, at an average of 16.55. The burly Queenslander scored 31 and 39 in the third Test victory, which happened to be his best performance of the series. Australian selector Andrew Hilditch hinted that the team was chosen keeping in mind the 2011 World Cup. "The announcement of these squads for the KFC Twenty20 Internationals and the Commonwealth Bank Series is a clear indication we are now in full-scale planning for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 ICC World Cup," Hilditch said. “Winning a fourth consecutive ICC World Cup and our first ICC Twenty20 title is an ambitious project. For this reason there will be very few players selected from this point that we can not see playing a role in achieving this goal," Hilditch added. "We are moving on. There is no doubt our advance plans were for Matthew to go through to the Ashes. That would be our ideal outcome. We've got to sit down as a panel to make a decision whether it's still the way to go." New South Wales opener David Warner will make his international debut for the Australian Twenty20 team, along with Queensland all-rounder Ryan Harris. Other notable omissions from the squads (below) include Test hero Mitchell Johnson and Hayden's opening partner Simon Katich as selectors decided to rest key players after a grueling summer. Hayden, however, with 161 one-day matches to his name, has won backing from his team-mates to play in the Ashes series this year despite poor returns since he recovered from a long-term heel injury.Australia will play two Twenty20 games against South Africa - in Melbourne on Sunday and Brisbane on Tuesday - before the five-match ODI series begins at the MCG on Friday.
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