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Michael Neser has sent national selectors a reminder of his Ashes worth, hitting a career-best unbeaten 176 for Glamorgan during a week away from Australia's Test camp.
- Neser scored an unbeaten 176 for Glamorgan, which was his second century in a row
- The Queenslander had been sent back to county cricket to bowl between Ashes Tests
- Rain has meant Neser has not yet bowled, but he is still in line for an Old Trafford call up
Sent back to county cricket between the third and fourth Ashes Tests to have a bowl, Neser's hopes of getting the ball in his hand have been denied by rain over the first three days.
But he instead showed his worth with the bat against Leicestershire.
After Glamorgan slumped to 7-93 on day three batting first, Neser helped the Wales-based outfit to recover to 9(dec)-403 late on Wednesday.
The Queenslander hit 25 boundaries and two sixes in his knock, bringing up his fourth first-class century when he hit spinner Colin Ackerman over mid-wicket for four.
"It means a lot. To put that together is quite special," Neser told BBC at the end of play.
"We just tried to say let's be positive and put the pressure back on them. We had a few fortunate moments and thankfully it paid off.
"It started to flatten out there a lot. It was quite tricky early on, and once you got through that new ball and it softened up, it was a nice wicket to bat on."
Queensland teammate Mitchell Swepson also hit 69 as part of a 123-run ninth wicket partnership with Neser.
The century is Neser's second in a row, after he also hit 123 against Sussex in his last match before entering Australia's Ashes camp in May.
Earlier in the season, Neser claimed a spectacular hat-trick that raised questions as to whether he should have been playing in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
Neser is yet to play a Test in this Ashes series, stuck behind Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland in Australia's attack.
The 33-year-old will return to Australia's Test camp in Manchester this weekend, with a full-squad training session on Sunday.
His most likely chance of a Test would come at The Oval in the series finale, if Hazlewood returned at Old Trafford next week and selectors did not want to play him in back-to-back Tests.
That would then likely set up a scenario where selectors would have to choose between Boland and Neser for the final Test.
Also in the runs was all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who made 81 in 67 balls this week on his debut for Warwickshire, helping to set up Wednesday's innings and 46-run victory over Kent.
AAP
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