Time proved to be the enemy of Ashes hopefuls Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell as Tasmania set the foundations for a towering Sheffield Shield win over Victoria.
Former Test batsman Alex Doolan scored an unbeaten double-century as the Tigers imposed their dominance on day three at the MCG.
The visitors declared their second innings at 2-424 shortly after tea on Wednesday and had Victoria struggling at 2-67 in reply, requiring 386 for victory. Bad light stopped play in the final over before stumps.
Maxwell was unbeaten on 20 and in a solid position, having spent more than an hour at the crease.
The question is whether it will be too late to make any difference to his chances of batting at No.6 in the Ashes, particularly with rain forecast for Thursday in Melbourne.
National selectors were due to meet on Wednesday afternoon in Brisbane to pick Australia's side for the first two Ashes Tests.
With the team set to be announced on Friday, Maxwell was unsure whether the XI would already be set in stone.
"I have no idea what direction they're going to go in," he said.
"We've obviously seen Cameron Bancroft perform extremely well over in the west and a few guys put their hands up ... I think that's what (selectors) asked for but who knows what they're going to do?"
Maxwell has the advantage of incumbency, the backing of several former greats and a recent Test century to his name.
But if he wasn't already nervous about his prospects, Bancroft's 228 not out for Western Australia would likely have done the trick.
It is increasingly difficult to see how selectors can overlook the highly rated Bancroft after his barnstorming Shield campaign.
The No.6 spot is where Bancroft, who usually opens the batting for WA, would most likely slot in.
Test opener Matt Renshaw's form slump had led to speculation he might be dropped. That appeared less likely after the Queenslander faced Australia's Test attack on Wednesday in a fiery net session.
Doolan (247no) and Tim Paine (71no) earlier combined to deny Test wicketkeeper Wade a final chance to make runs before the Ashes.
Wade had been due in at No.5 but was forced to watch as Doolan occupied the crease for just short of nine hours.
Doolan faced 380 balls on the way to his second double century in first-class cricket and the highest score of the Shield season.
NSW glovesman Peter Nevill is tipped to be picked for the Ashes ahead of Wade, whose 17 against Queensland is his only score in double figures from five Shield innings.
