Faulkner keen for extended Shield stint

As Australia began their winter Test tour of Sri Lanka, allrounder James Faulkner was hitting the gym in Hobart, preparing for a red-ball season he hopes will propel him back into Test reckoning.

The 26-year-old has long been a star in white-ball cricket, earning the nickname 'The Finisher' for a series of ice-cold match-winning performances, capped with the player of the match award in the 2015 World Cup final.

But Faulkner has just the one Test appearance – at The Oval in 2013, a dead rubber in an Ashes series defeat – and has since been overtaken in the allrounder pecking order by Mitchell Marsh and Moises Henriques, who was a surprise call-up to the Sri Lanka tour.

"I'd definitely like to be in Sri Lanka, I'd definitely like to play Test cricket again but as I've said all along, it's all in my hands, the ball's in my court," Faulkner told reporters in Hobart today.

"It's about scoring runs and taking wickets and this season I'm available for the majority of the four-day (Sheffield Shield) competition so it's getting my body right and put some big performances on the board, that's what I'm after."

Faulkner freely admits he's struggled to blend that limited-overs success with a focus on the red-ball format but is hoping to change some opinions with an extended run in Tasmania's Shield team this summer.

"If I can play well in these half-dozen games in Shield cricket there's no reason I can't play (Tests) again, but that's up to me," Faulkner said.

"It's hard when you come in to play one or two games then you're back to white-ball cricket where it's a different game.

"That's just the way it is being an allrounder when you play all three formats. I want to play all three formats, I have to find a way to adjust.

"I'm still learning as well, how to get that right balance going between the red ball, the T20, back to one-dayers, and travelling, and making sure I'm in decent physical nick as well."

After more than five months on the road, Faulkner is enjoying something approaching normality for an international athlete – a Monday to Friday working week, albeit one that focuses on splitting time between the gym and the nets.

"My sole focus at the moment is to get some strength back into my body, I'm lifting heavy weights three days a week, and then also doing my skills and cardio on top of that," he said.

"It's nice to have a good month at home, train Monday to Friday, have weekends off and spend time with my family down the east coast (of Tasmania).

Australia is yet to officially announce a squad for the limited-overs component of the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka but Faulkner is preparing to be ready to play.

"At the moment I'm getting ready to play white-ball cricket, as well as working on my technique here in the nets when it comes to red ball, knowing it's not really too away until I'm back here and playing Shield cricket."