The stakes -- and standard of competition -- will be higher than usual during next week's star-studded opening to the Sheffield Shield season.
NSW will unleash their Test stars, with the exception of recovering paceman Josh Hazlewood, for the day-night clash at the Adelaide Oval.
For Steve Smith and national selectors it is the start of the road leading to the Gabba for the Ashes opener on November 23.
For Kurtis Patterson, likely to be one of two players in the Blues' XI yet to don the baggy green, it is a chance to impress under immense pressure.
Selectors have made it clear they want to pick an in-form batsman at No.6 for the first Test against England. The field is wide open.
Patterson, who was on the cusp of being called up last year after Australia's horrible loss in Hobart but missed out to teammate Nic Maddinson, knows the score well.
"I certainly don't think I put enough big hundreds on the board last year to ever warrant selection," the 24-year-old told reporters on Thursday.
"It's not a frustrating feeling or anything (to have been close). It's nice to be spoken of in that way.
"As a batter who doesn't bowl, it's pretty obvious. I need to score big runs and score big hundreds to get my name out there."
Patterson has been touted as a future Test batsman since a record-breaking ton on Shield debut at age 18.
A century scored alongside Smith in last season's Shield opener put him firmly on the radar of selectors.
But the left-hander failed to convert a series of starts that followed, scoring 668 runs at 44.53 during the 2016-17 season.
"The big goal is turning 30s, 40s, 50s into hundreds then big hundreds," he said.
Patterson can't wait to learn from Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon and Hazlewood during the next four weeks.
"Last year I was able to bat with Steve for a while and gained a lot from that," he said.
"It was great but ... it was all very rushed.
"To have them around for (three rounds as opposed to one) ... will certainly be invaluable for all of us younger guys."
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