Jaques aims for greater things

Phil Jaques, the New South Wales opener, hopes he can continue knocking on the door of national selection. Jaques hit his third straight ING Cup century on Sunday with an unbeaten 158 off 141 balls and is a contender to fill Justin Langer's spot for the second Test against South Africa on Boxing Day after Langer was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Jaques possesses a phenomenal average of 160.33 in five domestic one-day games this season and an equally impressive strike-rate of 99.38. "It's been a really good start and to get three hundreds in a row has been fantastic," Jaques told Sportal. "Hopefully I can just keep going and just be consistent in the way that I bat." His form in the Pura Cup has also been solid with 400 runs at 50.00, including a top score of 137 against Victoria at Junction Oval earlier this month.

After touring Pakistan with Australia A in September, Jaques, a Wollongong junior, has been earmarked as a possible national player and he may get a call-up sooner than expected with the second-Test team named on Tuesday. Darren Lehmann, a former team-mate of Jaques at Yorkshire, said Jaques was in-form and ready for international cricket. "His game is in good order and there are no glaring weaknesses," he said. "He plays well and he's making runs consistently now, so he's got the next step not too far away."

While Jaques is also confident he can rise a level, he said he would like Langer to make a swift recovery. "I hope for his sake he overcomes it very quickly and can get back in the side for Australia's sake as well," he said. "If I do get an opportunity, that would be fantastic and I'd grab it with both hands and enjoy every minute of it." Langer has been rated a 50-50 chance by Errol Alcott, the team physiotherapist, for the third Test in Sydney starting on January 2.