October 15 Tuesday 2002
Slater's 'self doubt' after NSW axing

SYDNEY: Michael Slater says he has experienced self doubt and declining confidence after being left out of the New South Wales one- and four-day teams for their opening matches of the new Australian season.

An innings of 193 for the University of NSW in club cricket on the weekend came a few days too late for the former Test opener, who was dropped from both NSW teams during last summer before returning as captain in the final Sheffield Shield game.

Slater said his most recent exclusions was an "absolute wake-up call" and said it left him feeling "pretty down". "I suppose not being picked for the one-day game and then not being picked for the shield in the last week, there's been a little bit of self doubt creep in and my confidence has slipped."

Slater said the selectors were right to prioritise performance ahead of reputation, but he had hoped to start the season in the four-day team. "That was disappointing that they didn't show a bit of faith, but I understand that because I allowed that to happen because I haven't been scoring." 

Asked if he believed he could return to the Australian team, Slater said he still had to get back into the NSW side. He said anything was possible and pointed to incumbent Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, both of whom have rebounded spectacularly after being dropped from the team. "In a way, if people are writing off my chances of getting into the Australian side I think that will work in my favour because the expectation isn't there." A dashing right-hander, Slater scored 5,312 Test runs at an average of 42.83 with 14 hundreds and was dismissed nine times in the 90s.