I'm ready: Tremain better prepared if Test spot beckons

If paceman Chris Tremain was to make his Test debut in the Ashes he would play at the top of his game, something he couldn't say when he was on the fringe of winning a Baggy Green last summer.

Tremain is in Brighton with the Australia A squad pushing his case for Ashes selection but was on the fringe of a maiden Test berth in November last year following his inclusion in Australia's squad for the opening two Domain Tests against India.

The right-armer's prolific form in the Sheffield Shield for Victoria, which has seen him collect 138 wickets at 21 runs apiece across the last three seasons, earned him a spot in the 14-player squad but was ultimately overlooked for the opening Test in Adelaide in favour of the 'Big 3' of Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.

He was sent home to play Shield cricket for Victoria in Melbourne as Australia lost the first Test and was cut from the squad altogether for the second match in Perth less than a week later.

That's as close as the 27-year-old has come to Test selection but as he revealed on Wednesday on England's south coast, he was physically battling each day and would have not been able to showcase his full abilities had he been picked.

"Ironically enough I felt I wasn't at my peak then," Tremain told cricket.com.au.

"All seasons ebb and flow a little bit and you have golden patches where you plateau out a bit.

"At the moment I feel really good and I feel like I'm bowling well and my body feels good.

"When I was in the Test squad my body wasn't good. I was gritting my teeth every day to get through training and I was crossing my fingers hoping one day I would wake up and feel good.

Image Id: 6B3BA0F5D5F44E08B005745A22B37450 Image Caption: Tremain trains ahead of the 2018 Adelaide Test with fellow Victorian Peter Siddle // Getty

"Now it's not so much that. I'm fitter, I feel better, and I'm bowling well."

While he's not looking ahead to Ashes selection, which is set to be finalised after Australia A's third four-day clash against an Australian XI in Southampton from July 23-26, if Tremain was to be given a chance at least this time he knows he'd be physically up for it.

"You're a little bit more excited now about the prospect of getting an opportunity because you feel you would perform," he said.

"You might hit and stick rather than get an opportunity, be underdone, be sore, be cooked after 10 Shield games and barely be able to tie your shoelaces up and play your one Test and give your Baggy Green back and never get another opportunity."

Image Id: EDABC0B899604BE4A9A49EDF408DCE16 Image Caption: Tremain plays for Australia A against Sri Lanka in January // Getty

Tremain bowled approximately six overs on Wednesday in Brighton before Thursday's main training session for the four-day clash against Sussex in Arundel starting on July 7.

With Test players Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson and Jackson Bird in the squad, Tremain might have to wait until Australia A's second first-class match, against England Lions in Canterbury from July 14-17, to get a run.

While selection on the Ashes tour is the goal, Tremain is not expecting a call-up for the coveted series between cricket's two oldest rivals.

But if he was to get the nod he'd gladly change his travel plans.

"My wife and child are coming over, they're on the plane at the moment, and the furthest we've looked is extending our return flights about a week so we can spend a bit of time in London," he said.

"That's as far as I've looked and if someone else wants to extend my stay then they can, but I'm pretty happy with what I got going on at the moment."

Australia A tour of the UK

Get live scores and all the latest news from Australia A's tour of the UK on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D'Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye

Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain

One-day fixtures:

June 20: Australia A beat Northamptonshire by six wickets

June 23: Australia A beat Derbyshire by seven wickets

June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, match abandoned

June 30: Australia A beat Gloucestershire by five wickets

July 2: Australia A beat Gloucestershire by nine runs

Four-day fixtures:

July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel

July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, Canterbury

July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire