Moises Henrqiues remains a serious contender to fill the hole in Australia's Test middle-order after scoring his third century of the summer for NSW.
Henriques' composed 141 put the Blues on top of their Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria on Friday, going to stumps on day two at 7-304 in reply to 190.
An unused member of Australia's Test squad this summer, Henriques had for a long time appeared a forgotten man of international cricket.
But after playing the most recent of his four Tests back in 2016, the 34-year-old could well shape as an option for the vacant No.5 spot next summer.
And while Travis Head sent his own message to selectors with a double-century on Friday, Henriques is not far behind the South Australian in terms of Shield form.
He is now the competition's second-leading run scorer behind Head, with his 549 runs having come at an average of 68.62.
"The carrot is always there and as a player playing domestic cricket you watch Australia a lot," Henriques told AAP.
"I would love to play at the next level for Australia and challenge myself against the best teams.
"But at the same time, if I don't then as long as I am looking after what I can do I am also pretty happy.
"It's not like I am waking up every morning waiting by the phone. I can't control selections and a lot of external factors, but I can control my attitude."
Henriques looked in great touch in his 202-ball knock, after being the Blues' best player before the Test break.
He brought up his 50 when he jumped down the deck and thumped the ball back over bowler Jon Holland's head for six, later repeating the act against spinner Matt Short.
He eventually chopped on to Scott Boland (2-66), but by that point NSW were firmly on top.
Together with Peter Nevill he helped rescue NSW from 4-54, with the pair putting on 218 for the fifth wicket.
Nevill also looked in good touch for his 74 before falling lbw to Mitch Perry (2-53), after James Pattinson (2-43) struck twice early for Victoria.
"There were a couple of little things I would like to have tidied up, but that's the chase of ultimate perfection," Henriques said.
"But I'm very happy with the results and being able to come up with some sort of plan that yielded some runs, which was nice on a wicket that stayed pretty low."
NSW's lead was also set up by Harry Conway's career-best figures of 6-39, cleaning up the visitors' tail with three quick wickets on Friday morning.
Matt Short was the last of those to fall on 94, just shy of his maiden Shield century when he gloved one down the legside.
Australian Associated Press
