Bushranger Matthew Wade is hoping his new status as Victoria's No.1 wicketkeeper in all forms of the game will enhance his prospects of winning international selection.
Adam Crosthwaite's off-season switch to play with Manly in the Sydney grade competition leaves Wade as Victoria's first choice for the coming Sheffield Shield, domestic 50-over and Twenty20 campaigns.
Coming off a Shield season in which he averaged a touch under 50 with the bat and a pre-season in which he captained the AIS during the recent Emerging Players Tournament in Queensland, Wade feels well prepared for the huge summer ahead.
"It's just a bit of reassurance," Wade said at Bushrangers' training at the MCG on Thursday.
"At least I know now that I'm going to be playing three forms of the game unless something drastically goes wrong for me."
"It's nice personally to get that reward after a season that I was pretty happy with last year."
The principal side benefit of a greater workload and higher profile is the prospect of international selection.
The high turnover of Australian glovemen - Brad Haddin, Graham Manou, Chris Hartley and now Tim Paine - on the Ashes tour is a timely reminder that opportunities can open up at any time.
"Obviously I was no chance of getting picked for the Champions Trophy ... clearly for the fact that I wasn't playing one-day cricket as a keeper," Wade said.
"You have to be playing all three forms of the game if you want to play for Australia."
"Haddin's obviously the No.1 and unfortunately he got injured and Manou was the No.2 and he got injured too, so they picked 'Painey'."
"That's fine with me, he's a very good one-day player and four-day player and he's got the runs on the board in all three forms."
"If I just keep doing the right things in domestic cricket and try and put some scores together in one-day cricket, perhaps get a few in the (Champions League) tournament in India then you never know."
Wade is counting the days to the start of hostilities on October 9 when the Bushrangers launch their Champions League Twenty20 campaign against the Delhi Daredevils at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi where he'll confront his Victorian team-mate, left-arm quick Dirk Nannes.
Nannes was contractually tied to the Daredevils for the Champions League under the terms of his IPL contract which has left some the Bushrangers, including Wade, feeling a little uneasy.
"Obviously he bowls fast and it's not nice to face, but I'm sure he'll be bowling about the same pace (as in the nets), hopefully, fingers crossed," said Wade.
"I think it will be pretty good spirits out there, we're out there to do a job and so is he for Delhi so there won't be too much (sledging) I wouldn't have thought."