Australian captain Steve Smith is hoping for another bountiful summer of runs after drawing a lot of confidence from a profitable Sheffield Shield cricket outing for NSW.
Smith didn't start the season well, scoring just three and nine and facing a total of only 30 balls in his first two innings against SA in Adelaide last week.
It was a different story in the Blues' second-round game, in which he scored 76 and 127 in their win over WA in Sydney.
"I needed some time in the middle, so it was nice to get a few in the first innings when it was a little bit tougher,' Smith said.
"When the wicket flattened out a bit, it was nice to spend some time in the middle.
"Face some reverse swing bowling, some short stuff and faced pretty much a bit of everything, which is a really good lead-up into what's coming up in the summer.
"I felt really good, felt like I knew where I was hitting the ball again which was a big plus, and hopefully it's a big summer.."
He averages almost 60 in Tests, but Smith has said he occasionally forgets how to hold a bat.
Asked after Tuesday's century if he knew where his hands were on the bat, Smith said: "Believe it or not, at one point I got to mark it on my bat with the the pen.
"I had to readjust my grip and it moved a bit, so it didn't work.
"But I think I'm back and ready to go."
Smith confirmed not all of the Blues Test stars will play in next week's match against Queensland in the last round of Shield games prior to the first Test.
Pacemen Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins will both be rested after playing in the first two Shield rounds.
"They'll probably have little bowls in the nets and work on their batting up in Brisbane, but I think they're firing and fresh and ready to go," Smith said.
Starc, who on Tuesday became the first Australian to take two hat-tricks in a Shield match, has claimed 17 wickets at 12.7 across the first two rounds.
