Line through my name in pencil, not pen: SOK

Stephen O'Keefe holds a faint glimmer of hope that the final chapter of his international career has not been written, suggesting the line national selectors have put through his name has been drawn in pencil rather than pen.

The 33-year-old sent a reminder of the precision of his left-arm spin on the opening day of NSW's JLT Sheffield Shield game at the renovated Junction Oval, scything through Victoria's batting order with an eight-wicket haul.

O'Keefe claimed four wickets in the first session alone, removing the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch and eventually finishing with 8-77, the best return of his 75-game first-class career.  

Having played for Australia as recently as September on their Test tour of Bangladesh, drafted in as a shock inclusion in a three-pronged spin attack in Chittagong having originally missed selection for the squad altogether, O'Keefe now finds himself further back in the national pecking order. 

Victorian Jon Holland was selected as first-choice tweaker Nathan Lyon's understudy for the Qantas Tour of South Africa and with allrounder Ashton Agar also seemingly ahead in the queue, O'Keefe is realistic about his chances of adding to his nine Test caps.

"There's probably a pencil line through my name - it's not pen at the moment," he told ABC Grandstand on Saturday.

"You just never know. I'm enjoying my cricket for New South Wales, it's a great set up, led really well by our coach Trent Johnstone.

"If that opportunity comes for Australia, that's great. But being realistic about it, if they want to go down a younger path, then so be it. 

"(But if) you get a few more 'eight-fas' (eight-wicket hauls), who knows?"

In the aftermath of Australia's 1-2 series defeat in India last year, captain Steve Smith indicated that selectors have one eye on their next Test tour to modern cricket's epicentre.

That pledge saw Agar originally selected ahead of O'Keefe for the ensuing Bangladesh trip and although the Western Australian was overlooked for the South Africa series, he appears a likely inclusion for future Test tours to the subcontinent.

O'Keefe has also previously sung the praises of Queensland leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, suggesting he has the makings of a 200-wicket Test bowler, and reasserted that Australia's spin stocks with Lyon at the helm are in good shape.

"Nathan Lyon is only getting better and better and it's so exciting to see how good he is at the moment and how good he could potentially get," O'Keefe said.

"We've got some other good young spinners around the country – Jon Holland has been doing exceptionally well and deserves his place over there (in South Africa). 

"Then the likes of Ashton Agar if you need that batting, spinning allrounder. Leg-spin, you've got Swepson, Dan Fallins in NSW, a couple of young exciting spinners in their own right."

O'Keefe is closing in on 200 Shield wickets for the Blues (he has 183 scalps for NSW after his eight-wicket haul) and is now only four wickets away from overtaking his namesake and former Test spinner Kerry O'Keefe.

And the younger O'Keefe issued a tongue-in-cheek message to the ex-spinner turned colourful radio commentator.

"The last time I heard 'Skull' comment on me, I think his comment was, 'I wouldn't play him anywhere outside India for an international game, or the SCG'," said O'Keefe. "Well Skull, I've just added Junction Oval to places you might be able to play me. 

"You can play me in two places around the country. 

"I'd love to have that one over him. I'd love to have that Blues record. 

"There's a lot of snuffs in this cricket team - Eddie Cowan, Trent Copeland and myself generally know our stats to the fourth decimal place. 

"When you're baking out in the sun watching cricket, you need a bit of interest and following the game that closely is something I like to do."