Glenn Maxwell insists his defence has improved as he sets about trying to make Australia's No.6 spot his own for this summer's Ashes series.
Australian captain Steve Smith called on Australia's Test hopefuls to make an "irresistible" case for selection in the penultimate round of Sheffield Shield before the first Test starting on November 23.
And so far, Maxwell is one of the few of the likely candidates to in part answer the call.
The 29-year-old, who was part of Australia's campaigns in India and Bangladesh this year, has never played a Test on home soil.
But while other failed around him, Maxwell mounted his case for the Gabba Test with a circumspect start to his 60 against South Australia on Sunday at the MCG, before he kicked on later in his innings.
"This past 12 months I've been extremely confident in my defence especially against fast bowling - just making sure that I've been tight and there's no gaps there," Maxwell said.
"I've looked a lot more comfortable at the crease and been able to be involved in partnerships ... and not just worrying about hitting boundary after boundary.
"It's about making sure that you're there for a long time - being there for the second and third spells of the quicks and making them pay later in the day."
Other Test hopefuls haven't had much to crow about.
Shaun Marsh managed just two for Western Australia on Sunday, while Hilton Cartwright was lbw for a duck after Test quick Josh Hazlewood ran through the pair.
It came after Daniel Hughes, Nic Maddinson and Kurtis Patterson all failed to pass 50 for NSW on Saturday, despite making starts in front of national selector Mark Waugh.
Travis Head scored 67 at the MCG for the Redbacks on Saturday, while the only centurions from the second round have been South Australia's Jake Lehmann and Victoria's Marcus Harris - both not expected to be in Ashes contention.
But Maxwell said he had laughed off the selection talk headed into the first Test.
"You just find it funny because whoever makes a 50 is all of a sudden in great nick, whoever makes a hundred is next picked ... It's just funny," Maxwell said.
"I haven't spoken to (the selectors) and it doesn't really concern me too much."
Regardless, Smith's predecessor Michael Clarke said that if the Australian captain wanted to take an aggressive approach into the Ashes, Maxwell should be there.
"If you want to be aggressive then your attitude is this Australian team is going to play with a really aggressive intent, then for me it's a no-brainer," Clarke told Channel Nine's Sports Sunday.
"Glenn Maxwell plays in that position. Risk versus reward, sometimes it's going to come off sometimes he's not. But he's an aggressive number six."
