Michael Clarke launched an impassioned defence of Phillip Hughes but the selection axe hovers menacingly over the struggling Australian opener after an embarrassing failure in the first test against New Zealand at the Gabba.
Hughes' immediate Test future is again in grave doubt after he offered two successive catches to the slips cordon during a forgettable six-ball stay.
The left-hander, who was caught in the gully for 10 in the first innings, went the same way in the second dig off beanpole quick Chris Martin for seven.
But what was even more damning for the unorthodox 23-year-old, who consistently falls to catches in the cordon, was his dismissal came immediately after edging to second slip where Brendon McCullum dropped a simple chance.
With Shane Watson and Shaun Marsh poised to return to the top-order in the next two Tests, and all-rounder Dan Christian on stand-by for Hobart to better balance the side, Hughes is vulnerable due to his unreliability facing the new ball.
