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Much more than a practice match

Australia open their West Indies tour tonight with players battling for Test XI spots

Adam Voges has played plenty of cricket since his state debut 12-and-a-half years ago, but this week's match against a West Indies President's XI in Antigua – his 160th at first-class level – has more riding on it than most of the 159 that came before it.

After a record-breaking summer with Western Australia that catapulted him into Australia's squad for the Ashes and the tour of the West Indies, Voges is now closer than ever to a dream that he thought as recently as 12 months ago had passed him by.

The 35-year-old knows that a big score this week in the relaxed environment of the Sir Vivian Richards Grounds, where training cricketers have often been outnumbered by grazing horses in the neighbouring paddocks during the past few days, could represent the final step on his long road towards his first Baggy Green.

"I understand how big an opportunity it is," Voges said of Australia's only warm-up fixture ahead of the first Test in Dominica on June 3.

"It's still just another game of cricket, but I certainly understand that a good performance here will certainly do my cause no harm.

"I'm just looking forward to getting out there. I feel like I'm hitting the ball well so the quicker I can get out there, the better.

"I certainly look at this as a huge opportunity and hopefully I can put my name forward."

Voges' eagerness for the match to get underway stems from a desire to continue his momentum after an incredible 2014-15 season.

Having opened the summer with 255 runs in WA's triumphant Matador Cup campaign, Voges took his game to unprecedented new levels during the Bupa Sheffield Shield competition, which was played either side of his Perth Scorchers' title-winning run in the KFC T20 Big Bash League.

Voges produced the fourth-best Shield season in history, scoring 1358 runs at 104.46 with six centuries and top score of 249, leaving selectors with little choice but to pick him as one of six frontline batsmen for Australia's winter tours.

His elevation to the Test squad scuppered plans of a full season with English county side Middlesex, but he was still able to squeeze in four Championship matches and a T20 fixture for the Lord's-based club before arriving in the Caribbean last week.

And he says his short and successful stint in England, highlighted by scores of 98 and 132 in a come-from-behind victory over Somerset a month ago, has helped maintain his momentum.

"(For) any cricketer, confidence is a massive thing and I feel really good about my game at the moment," he said.

"I've been in the best form that I probably ever have been so from that point of view I just can't wait to get out there and keep playing.

"That's why I kept playing county cricket over in England; just to keep batting and keep trying to score as many runs as possible.

"Fortunately I've had a good month over there and hopefully I can continue that here."

The fact that Voges is here at all is testament to his resilience and mental fortitude.

In and out of Australia's one-day international side between 2007 and 2013, Voges has also been on the fringes of the Test set-up for the better part of the decade.

While never completely giving up hope, he concedes his dream to play Test cricket began to fade as he approached the twilight of his career.

In fact, should he manage to break into the Test XI this year, Voges would become just the 16th Australian to debut after his 35th birthday and the oldest to pull on the Baggy Green for the first time since Bryce McGain played his one and only Test in 2009.

Voges says the example of teammate Chris Rogers, who was picked for the 2013 Ashes series as a 35-year-old with one Test to his name, proved that a batsman's run-scoring ability weighs more heavily at the selection table than their age.

"If I was honest with you, 12 months ago I didn't think I'd be standing here," he said. "Obviously I had the season that I had, and that was terrific.

"I guess when Chris Rogers got selected on the back of big domestic runs, you always felt like there was still that chance if you scored a mountain of runs.

"There was always that glimmer of hope even though, at times, it probably felt like that chance had gone by.

"That selection in itself still gave me hope that selectors would reward performance.

"I still had to go out and score a lot of runs but I'm very happy for the opportunity."

Should Voges take the opportunity before him this week, he will put himself in a good position to join Rogers in the side for the first Test against the Windies next week.