Victoria paceman Peter Siddle is primed for a Test recall, with Bushrangers coach Andrew McDonald saying he is in "fantastic form" heading into Tuesday's opening Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania at the MCG.
The 31-year-old wasn't expected to be fit for the day-night Shield match let alone next week's Test against South Africa after suffering a stress fracture in his back in February.
But the 61-Test veteran looked sharp in last week's one-day cup and McDonald believes he is ready for the international arena, with the Australian squad for the Perth Test named on Friday.
"He's bowling with great pace and running in significantly faster than I've ever seen him run in so he's on top of the ground," McDonald said.
"I'm quietly confident that if he gets through this and performs in this game he'd be putting his hand up for selection."
Siddle will have some bowling restrictions, as dictated by Cricket Australia, but McDonald didn't want to give away his plans on how he would use him.
"All I will say is there are some restrictions but I think there needs to be; it's common sense.
"We will still have some flexibility with the restrictions and there will be enough overs for us to use him as a full head count."
McDonald said Siddle had done the most pre-season work amongst the Victorian bowlers so he wasn't concerned about the load.
With a 2pm AEDT start time, the defending champions had a twilight session under lights on Monday with the pink ball to help prepare for the day-night fixture.
"The key thing that we saw with the pink ball last year is that catching was the fundamental issue in the game," McDonald said.
"It's about making sure that we're ready for that."
Ex-skipper Cameron White, who led all scorers in the one-day competition, has also been included in a 12-man squad alongside former West Australian batsman Marcus Harris.
Left-arm spinner Jon Holland has been named ahead of leggie Fawad Ahmed.
"Fawad is unlucky not to be included," McDonald said.
"Jon Holland played his first Test match in the off-season so he gets first crack at that position, so hopefully he can make it his own."
