Aaron Finch's extraordinary limited-overs form could propel him to a long-awaited Test debut for Australia.
The Victorian opener reset his own record for the highest Twenty20 international score by blazing 172 against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
It topped his previous mark of 156 against England in 2013.
He is the only player to bring up 150 in an international T20.
The innings was his third consecutive 50 in T20Is and goes with his ODI century during Australia's 5-0 whitewash defeat to England last month.
While Finch has cemented himself as one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, he averages a modest 36.41 at first-class level.
But with banned stars David Warner and Steve Smith on the sidelines until at least March, an opportunity could arise to claim a baggy green.
Matthew Renshaw and Joe Burns failed to cement themselves in the team when they were the opening pair in Australia's last Test in March following the ball-tampering scandal.
Finch says he only has himself to blame for not playing at Test level.
"When I was a bit younger I had a chance to be really pushing my case for a few years and I probably had 18-to-24 months of really lean red-ball cricket," Finch said after his record-breaking innings.
"I was playing good one-day cricket for Australia and I couldn't put the runs on the board in four-day cricket.
"That was disappointing but I've slowly started to build my red-ball game up again and I feel more comfortable playing that now.
"I've adapted my game and I'm in a much better position now than I was a few years ago.
"Test cricket will take care of itself if I keep making runs."
Australia's next Test isn't until December when they host India at the Adelaide Oval.
