Peter Nevill was shocked at Tim Paine's selection as Test wicketkeeper but is determined to fight his way back into the Australian side.
The NSW stumper played 17 Tests in 2015-16 before losing the spot to Matthew Wade.
He, Wade and young SA custodian Alex Carey were then widely tipped as the contenders for the role heading into last week's first Ashes Test.
However the selectors recall of Paine seven years after his last Test shocking many, including Nevill.
"Yeah, I have to say it did, to be honest," he said on Thursday.
"I think a lot of noise was made about it being a three-horse race, which evidently was incorrect.
Asked if he thought his Test days were over, the 32-year old said, "I certainly hope not".
"I was disappointed to miss selection this time but having said that I'm determined to get myself back in the team at some point.
"I just need to ensure that when the next opportunity presents itself I'm doing well and performing well and making lots of runs.
It was a shortage of that precious cricketing commodity which ruled him out of the Brisbane Test. Nevill had scored just 80 runs in four Shield innings.
"The feedback I received was I didn't make enough runs in the first three Shield games," said Nevil, who appreciated being told the reason for his omission in a call from chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns.
He has already responded to a request from NSW and Australian captain Steve Smith to be more vocal behind the stumps.
"I certainly did in the first three (Shield) games. Steve asked me directly, that's what he wanted from me," Nevill said.
Instead of being in Adelaide for this week's second Test, he and Wade will playing each other when the ladder-leading Blues face Tasmania in Hobart in a Shield game starting next Sunday.
While Nevill averages just under 40 across his first-class career, he was philosophical about batting no higher than No.7 for the Blues this season.
"That's a real strength of NSW, we've got a lot of people earning their spots and batting higher up in the order," he said.
Nevill was named as part of an unchanged NSW squad for the match.
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