Glenn Maxwell's taste of being part of Australia's Test squad in Sri Lanka has urged the man to return to Sheffield Shield to get selected for his eighth test.
Maxwell just missed out on selection in the drawn Sri Lanka series as Travis Head returned from injury in the nick of time to play both tests.
But coming so tantalisingly close has only encouraged the Big Show, and now he's eyeing Victoria's Shield side as a proving ground to finally break back into the team.
The strong performances of the current Australian XI on home soil will limit his chances of a return during the five tests in Australia this summer.
But should Maxwell prove himself at the state level, the poor form of Travis Head in the subcontinent may well pave the way for his return when the test side goes to India in February.
Should Maxwell earn a recall, it will be the first time he's played in a Test match since 2017 against Bangladesh.
In saying that, the white ball superstar still has his eyes set firmly on the Big Bash, where he captains the Melbourne Stars, meaning he'll only be available for two Shield matches before the Big Bash begins.
"It's exciting, I haven't played (first-class cricket) since 2019," Maxwell told cricket.com.au.
"I did actually have a look at the schedule properly yesterday and I think I'm going to be available for a couple of Shield games before the Big Bash.
"It's nice to have that to look forward to and potentially get some red-ball cricket finally.
"It's been a long time and having that taste of just being in the Test squad was so exciting and reinvigorated and reminded myself of where I want to be.
"It's something that I've made no secret about, that I really want to play Test cricket again and I'm just hoping by the end of the summer hopefully I can be somewhere around that Test squad."
Encouraging the selectors further will be the fact that the 33-year-old's sole test century came on an Indian pitch and those notorious conditions are ones he's comfortable with.
"It's somewhere where I feel really comfortable, and I've played a lot of cricket over there" Maxwell said.
"I know that if I can get that opportunity, I know that it's going to be something that feels comfortable for me and somewhere I know I can be successful."
Maxwell will also be involved in the many shorter format games Australia has coming up, most notably the T20 World Cup defence that begins in October.
Good form in those matches can only help, and it is currently his main focus.
"The memories of 2015 come flooding back hosting a World Cup in your own backyard," he said.
"Just the feeling around the squad and the feeling around Australia when we were travelling around trying to win a World Cup in front of our home fans was something that was so special.
"To be defending the title which we didn't have until 10 months ago is something really exciting for us and it's going to be a big challenge, especially with an added level of expectation now."
