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LONDON, Thursday (Reuters) - Nasser Hussain refused to call time on veteran wicketkeeper Alec Stewart's career on Thursday despite his continued omission from the England squad.

The England captain, speaking at a press conference just before departing for a one-day series in India, said the team was not good enough to ignore players of Stewart's quality.

"We are not good enough to dismiss anyone...whether they're troublesome, whether they rule themselves out of tours, whether they're 40 or 18," he said.

"It has to be on ability, that's all."

Wicketkeeper-batsman Stewart, 38, ruled himself out of England's recently concluded test tour to India as well as the one-dayers, saying he wanted a rest. He did, however, say he was available for the New Zealand tour immediately afterwards.

The selectors were not ready to allow him to pick and choose his tours and opted instead for young wicketkeeper James Foster.

They stuck with their man when Stewart, who has played 115 tests and 146 one-dayers, changed his mind and said he was ready to play in the six-match one-day series in India after all.

Following a nightmare debut, the 21-year-old Foster impressed in the India test series, which England lost 1-0, and has been retained as first choice behind the stumps for both the Indian one-dayers and the New Zealand tour in February and March. 

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