Thami Tsolekile is "shocked" at his omission from the South Africa A cricket team competing in a tri-series in Zimbabwe.
The Lions wicketkeeper, who captained the A team on tours to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka last year, had hoped for continuity in the selection of the reserve team.
"I understand that, with Jacques [Rudolph] back in the fold, they might want him as captain but I didn't expect to be out of the team completely," he said. "I'm disappointed that I didn't get a look-in at all during this year's A tours."
Tsolekile was not considered for either the Bangladesh A series in April or the current tournament despite a string of successes last year. South Africa A won both unofficial test matches in Bangladesh, with Tsolekile scoring two centuries. They also won the tri-series, which included West Indies A.
In Sri Lanka, they drew the tests and were victorious in the limited-overs triangular competition, which also involved Pakistan A.
New Proteas assistant coach Russell Domingo, who was in charge of the A team at that stage, was impressed with Tsolekile's skills as a skipper. "He led from the front in terms of performances and he prepared well," Domingo said. "He can count himself unlucky not to have been selected this time."
Tsolekile's exclusion was probably based on the fact that he did not enjoy the same success with the bat last season as he did in 2009-10, when he topped the Lions' 40-over batting charts. He still felt that he deserved a spot because of his experience behind the stumps, especially since there is still no long-term replacement for Mark Boucher. "All the keepers are in the same boat and nobody is really putting their hand up. I've learnt a lot from my first stint in international cricket and feel I am ready for the challenge again."
Convener of selectors Andrew Hudson agreed that the need to find the country's next keeper was pressing and said the panel chose to go with two men in possession, Heino Kuhn and Morne van Wyk, who withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. No replacement was added, although the wicketkeeper's berth is subject of debate.
"Heino is probably the best keeper at the moment and also had a good season with the bat," Hudson said. Kuhn has a first-class average of over 40 but his limited-overs statistics are not much better than Tsolekile's over the past season.
A top-heavy Titans batting lineup meant Kuhn scored just 49 runs in nine matches, while Tsolekile managed 204 runs in the same number of matches.
Domingo thinks little separates Tsolekile from any other wicketkeeper in the country because he is "as good as any who are around at the moment" but that his batting has improved over the years.
"He started out as an innovative, flamboyant batsman but he really seemed to have worked out his strategy, especially in four-day cricket, so that he has both a good defence and can score quickly."
It was not enough to justify his inclusion in the A team this year but Hudson has not ruled him out in the future. "We have not discarded him or forgotten about him by any means," he said.
