Hayden non-committal over future

Matthew Hayden intends to take time out to consider his future with the Australia side

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Matthew Hayden is not ready to announce his international retirement despite being dropped from the Australia squad for the Twenty20 and one-day internationals against South Africa.

Hayden has been struggling for runs for some time, prompting the Australia selectors to turn their attention to New South Wales batsman David Warner and Queensland’s Ryan Harris.

That leaves Hayden’s long-term future in doubt but the 37-year-old will not make any quick decisions.

"My immediate future is to go back home to my family and to the people who love me the most and enjoy this time," he said.

"It's been a pretty long last four months. It's very difficult to take a breath and get my mind around what my future does hold. I'm going to take the time to do that.

"There's a Shield game I want to play and I want to take my time and make a good decision moving forward.”

Hayden claimed he understood the decision to leave him out.

"I'm paid to get runs and when you are short of runs then you have to start asking questions,” he added.

Hayden will now return to Queensland, and believes playing for his club team will help him decide his international future.

"For my mind it is as simple as playing out the summer and taking the time and the energy to get back on the horse or make a decision not to. It's as clear cut as that,” he said.

"I will take that time because I respect the game.

"If mates were telling me, 'mate it's time to go' I would certainly listen to that. But my mates aren't saying that.

"The people who do understand the difficulties of our role as cricketers aren't saying that to me.

"Ultimately it will be my call to look at the bloke that talks to yourself every day in the mirror and say 'mate, it is time to go or saddle up, pull your socks up and get on with it - you've got South Africa and you've got the Ashes'."