Ed Cowan scored 109 for the Chairman's XI against India in Canberra on Tuesday, and now he will play the waiting game and see whether Australian selectors call on him to face the same opposition on Boxing Day in Melbourne.
Cowan was well in the frame for a Test debut before the tour game and after the opener contributed more than half of the Chairman's stumps score of 7 for 215 from 59 overs, he walked off satisfied he could not have done much more to press his case.
This score came on the back of his 145 against New Zealand playing for Australia A last month, two big tons for Tasmania and a heaving first-class average of 54.12 this year.
Cowan believes his positive experience against the touring sides have given him the best platform possible to make the leap from Sheffield Shield cricket to opening the batting on Boxing Day.
"As a state cricketer that's the pinnacle, to see international superstars to play against them and to benchmark yourself against them," Cowan said.
"To be able to score some runs has been a big confidence boost to know you're not that far off the running.
"The biggest challenge is being able to make the game a bat on ball contest and block out 90,000 people and the occasion of having grown up watching Boxing Day, the ritual which is so very Australian.
"That would be the biggest challenge. I would be very confident about the batting stuff but you don't know until you try it."
Cowan's chance of playing on the biggest stage seems to rest on the fitness of Shane Watson. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday morning that Watson did not take part in the first day of Australia's pre-Test batting camp.
If Watson is fit it seems likely Cowan will miss out as Australian coach Mickey Arthur hinted at Dan Christian as a suitable addition to the batting line-up.
Cowan deserved a ton from 154 balls faced, but in the end he should not have got one after he was clearly run out for 95 when he attempted a single to cover.
Rohit Sharma came up with a direct hit, but Cowan either intentionally or by a brilliant accident ran behind where umpire John Ward had positioned himself and the man in white had no idea where the left-handed Tasmania batsman was.
He was caught a metre short and India remonstrated in disbelief, but lady luck seems to be on Cowan's side at the moment and within a couple of overs he wound his bat around like a windmill after notching his fourth century of the season.
Usman Khawaja is under some pressure to hold his spot batting three for Australia, and was again neither here nor there with 25 from 49 balls.
The NSW left-hander would have been hoping to bat through for a big score, after a Test career dominated by solid starts that have not been capitalised on.
The fact Phil Hughes was demoted to number four suggests he is dead man walking in Australian colours and after moving pretty comfortably to 20, he attempted a sweep too far outside his body and popped one up to be out just before tea.
David Warner's dream run of back-to-back tons came undone in the first over of the innings when he was clean bowled by Abhimanyu Mithun, while century maker from the first Chairman's game Tom Cooper made 38.
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the sole shining light for the Indian attack, and finished with 4 for 52 from 14 overs.
India was all out for 269 during its first innings and aside from a Virat Kohli's 132, there was not much to write home about.
AAP
Tags: cricket, sport, canberra-2600, act, australia, india First posted December 20, 2011 18:04:47
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