South Australia is set to ease Shaun Tait back into cricket through the one-day arena but have an expectation the slinging fast bowler will be available for Sheffield Shield matches later in the season.
The Redbacks have overlooked the 26-year-old quick for next week's four-day match against Tasmania at Adelaide Oval but are set to play him in the limited overs clash against the same side on October 18.
Back in May, Tait said his plan was to focus on the shorter versions of the game after losing his contract with Cricket Australia.
But Redbacks coach Mark Sorell is optimistic the former Australian quick will be back in the whites at some stage this year.
"It's never been ruled out from my point of view, we've just got to make sure we get him right in the shorter form first of all and the rest will take care of itself," Sorell said.
"He's tracking pretty well actually to be honest, apart from having a bit of a virus infection at the Sunshine Coast last week, other than that he's going along really nicely and getting all fired up for our first Ford Ranger game against Tasmania."
Tait is not the only high-profile Redback under the spotlight with batsmen Mark Cosgrove keen to cement his spot in the side.
This time last year the left hander was on the outer but after finishing the 2008-09 Shield season strongly, and scoring a pile of runs for Glamorgan over the winter, the 25-year-old is keen to have an impact for his home state.
"We kept saying last year it was about runs for Mark and he's come back in great form, his preseason has been excellent, so he's a very important player in our system when he's playing like he is at the moment," Sorell said.
Redbacks captain Graham Manou said he also had high expectations for the explosive batsmen.
"From what I've seen Mark Cosgrove is in tremendous touch, his game has gone up again, I think from his stint in England," Manou said.
"I am going to quite openly putting a lot of pressure on him to actually stand up and deliver. A lot has always been said about his potential but I think he's really showing to the group how much his game has improved and I think it's about time he showed the public."
"There's always this aura about Mark Cosgrove but hopefully we get to see a bit more of the on-field stuff."