Clarke says Hughes has a future in Test arena, needs to continue scoring

Australian captain Michael Clarke has said Phil Hughes has a future in the Test arena and needs to continue scoring runs after missing selection for the upcoming tour of South Africa.

Clarke said playing at the highest level is tough and you have to go through some ups and downs to work out how you play your best, and added that Hughes is a good example.

He said Hughes has an enormous amount of talent, and hoped his game continues to improve.

Clarke wanted Hughes just to score as many runs as he can to be in the front of the selectors' minds.

Former Test star Michael Hussey has also added his voice to those querying the snubbing of Hughes for the tour of South Africa, saying the left-hander has done everything asked of him by the selectors.

Hughes' state coach at South Australia, Darren Berry, is seeking clarification from national selector John Inverarity and the rest of the panel about Hughes' absence from the 15-man squad, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Hughes' with two hundreds and a double century has scored 549 first-class runs this season at an average of 61.

Alex Doolan and Shaun Marsh were averaging less than 40 for their states when the Sheffield Shield competition broke last month to make way for the Big Bash League.