Tim Paine may be currently preparing for Australia's upcoming ODI series against India, but Queensland wicketkeeper Chris Hartley believes the race to be Brad Haddin's understudy in the national setup is as open as it has ever been.
Hartley, pigeonholed for much of his career as a batsman suited to the longest form of the game, shone while opening the batting for the first time in his state career in the Bulls' six-wicket Ford Ranger Cup win over South Australia on Wednesday.
Hartley blasted his maiden one-day half-century, stroking seven boundaries before falling victim to the medium pace of Mark Cosgrove after tallying 60 runs.
The 27-year-old spent his winter playing for Chorley in England's Northern League and was drafted into the Australian side for a two-day match against the England Lions.
It was an injury to Graham Manou, ironically the man who selectors chose over Hartley to fill the role of back-up keeper on the Ashes tour, that opened the door for the Queenslander.
Manou and Paine recently made their international debuts in the wake of injuries to Haddin, but Hartley is firmly of the belief that the pecking order of wicketkeepers is anything but clear-cut.
"The position of keeper in Australian cricket at the moment is a lot more open than what most people realise," Hartley said after his knock.
"I still think Haddin is above anyone else, simply because he deserves that after so many years in the wings behind (Adam) Gilchrist."
"He's still ahead, but the race behind him is pretty open .You saw Manou get a chance on the Ashes tour, Tim Paine stepped up in the last one-day series and did well."
"I had a good season last year, Matthew Wade had a good season last year, Luke Ronchi is the forgotten man, so there's some talent out there."
Hartley captured a personal best of 54 dismissals in the 2008-09 Sheffield Shield season, and also notched 524 runs, including consecutive centuries.
The vast majority of those runs came while batting conservatively at No. 7 or No. 8, but Hartley was able to produce plenty of shots in his side's bonus-point win over the Redbacks.
The pocket dynamo unleashed a series of brilliantly-timed drives, powerful pull-shots and clever cut-shots, and handled the responsibility of opening with much maturity.
"It was nice to get a go in the top six, because I've done a decent job finishing off an innings, but I was quite keen to see how I'd go at the top."
"You get rewarded at the top of the order if you play good cricket shots, so I know within myself that I can do that job."
"It was nice to have a bit longer at the top, spend a bit of time in the middle, hit a few in the middle and score some runs."
Hartley was unsure as to whether he will remain at the top of the order, especially when Australia all-rounder James Hopes returns from India.
"I wouldn’t say that it's definitely going to happen every time, but it gives us another option there."
"(For me), it was just waiting until we got an opportunity. That's now and it's important that I can do well when given that."
Queensland selectors have named an unchanged lineup for Saturday's one-day clash against Western Australia at the Gabba.