LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Slater plans a clear-the-air meeting with the Australian selectors after being axed for the fifth and final Ashes Test. The opening batsman, speaking on the eve of the game at The Oval, said: "I'll be talking to the selectors again to see what they expect of me. "I'm big enough to go down that path. If there's a problem, that needs addressing. I didn't feel under threat. It came as a shock and that makes it harder to handle. I have worked really hard on this tour and was totally focussed on the fifth Test."

But the 31-year-old accepted that he had "under-achieved" with the bat after scoring 77 in the first Test and said he was determined to fight back into the side, adding that he had "all the faith in the world" in the leadership and selection of the team.

Earlier Australia captain Steve Waugh told a press conference that Slater had been dropped in favour of Justin Langer solely on form and that he still had a Test future, before adding: "There are always related issues but that's for the selection panel."

Slater, looking increasingly emotional during his conference, said that he did not think he had been dropped for oversleeping and missing the team bus on the way to a training session in the run-up to the fourth Test. "It was an honest mistake and I'm not the only one it's happened to. I didn't set the alarm properly on my new mobile phone," he said. Asked if he had been dropped for disciplinary reason, he added: "Not to my knowledge."

Slater has scored 170 runs at an average of 24.28 in the first four Tests of the Ashes. His tour average of 28.41, however, is superior to Langer's. Langer, who has little experience opening the innings for Australia, averages just 20.33, with that average boosted by one innings of 104 not out.

Slater can count himself a little unlucky, in that team mate Ricky Ponting was not dropped despite failing to pass 20 in a Test innings for six matches. Averaging 12 on tour, Ponting came good at the Headingley test with a sparkling 144.

Langer, meanwhile, said: "I'm really pumped. Slater is really down...When I was not selected for the first Test I thought that was it for the tour. This is a surprise."

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