Cowan puts forward case for Test recall

It’s one thing to score a century to push your case for a Test recall.

It’s another thing all together to do it on a difficult batting pitch with the national skipper watching from the sidelines.

That’s the opinion of veteran NSW Blues opener Ed Cowan following his vital hundred in the NSW Blues’ crushing victory over the defending champions Western Australia in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup last night.

Quick single: Starc, Sandhu send Warriors packing

Cowan hasn’t featured in the Baggy Green in 819 days – since the thrilling first Test of Australia’s failed 2013 Ashes tour – but the left-hander says he’s never felt better as Australia searches for a new opener following the retirement of Chris Rogers in August.

"I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t want to be playing Test cricket,” Cowan told media after earning a new barbecue for his man-of-the-match performance.

"I don’t read too much into one-day cricket form, the Shield stuff is where it’s at in terms of the Test team. 

"I felt like my last Shield season was a really strong one for me. 

"If I can build on that, there are obviously positions available, so if you’re scoring runs then anyone’s a chance."

Watch: Patient Cowan scores NSW century

Cowan was overlooked for the scheduled Qantas Tour of Bangladesh with the likes of Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja set to fight it out before the tour was postponed.

Quick single: Critical Lehmann puts Maxwell on notice

While he was keen to play down the importance of Matador Cup form in regards to his Test hopes, Cowan believes he’s a different, vastly improved, player since his last Test appearance.

"That’s their prerogative,” Cowan said of the selectors using one-day form as a guide for Test selection.

"They’re two different forms, so all you can do is score runs in the game you’re playing. 

"I don’t think I’ve ever played better across all formats and I’m really confident in my game at the moment.

"The improvements I’ve made since falling out of the Test team are significant. 

"If I had another crack then I feel as though I’m ready to go."

Watch: Sandhu's four of the best

After scoring 815 runs at an average of 47.94 in the last season of Shield, Cowan made the shock decision to leave Tasmania after six seasons and return home to NSW. 

It was a decision based more on family than cricket, but the presence of a number of Test players in the Blues squad is driving Cowan to add to his 18 Tests.

"I think every time you get runs in front of the Test captain it goes a long way,” he said. 

"It’s different to him opening up the paper and seeing runs. 

"He gets to see how you’re playing and the improvements you’ve made and hopefully he can go back when they sit down at the selection table and say ‘he’s playing well’." 

Watch: Super Starc unstoppable

Critics say he isn’t attacking enough for modern Test cricket, however Cowan boasted the highest strike-rate of anyone in the top 15 Shield runscorers last summer.

The 100 he scored at Blacktown International Sportspark yesterday came from 139 balls and won’t feature in any sizzle reels to bring the fans flocking back to domestic one-day cricket, but it was exactly what the Blues needed to post a record List A total for the venue with 5-264 from their 50 overs.

"During the day it was very hard (to get going),” Cowan said.

"It was a bit of an old fashioned innings. It wasn’t pretty, but effective. 

"We knew that 260 was going to be a fantastic score on that wicket and the bowlers came to the party.

"It was two-paced, it was slow, there was sand around the square so even if you did hit a good shot it rolled out to cover and it felt you had a pillow on your bat. 

"It was frustrating at times. It’s not pretty one-day cricket out here, but we knew what we were going to get and we decided to adapt our game to the conditions and we did that really well."

Cowan also sent a warning to the rest of the competition with the Blues already 11 points clear on top of the table.

"We’re only three games in and we’ve talked about getting better every outing and I think we’re doing that,” he declared.

"If we keep improving at this rate, look out come the end of the tournament."