WESTERN Australia — Allrounder Hilton Cartwright hopes a mountain of domestic runs will help him lock up Australia’s number six Test batting spot in time for this summer’s Ashes series.
Cartwright, Glenn Maxwell, Moises Henriques, Marcus Stoinis and Mitch Marsh are set to battle it out in the coming months for Ashes selection.
The first two rounds of the Sheffield Shield season will prove crucial to their hopes, with the first Test against England starting on November 23 in Brisbane.
Western Australia’s Cartwright has played two Tests for Australia — against Pakistan in January at the SCG and last month in Bangladesh.
The 25-year-old, scoring 37 and 18 in his only two Test knocks, knows he needs to prove his worth if he is to be selected for the Ashes.
Cartwright hopes he can bolster his case with a series of high scores for the Warriors in the early part of the Shield season.
“I think everyone in Australian cricket has got one eye on that No.6 batting spot,” Cartwright said.
“The top five are pretty much knuckled down. There’s also a bowling spot up for grabs. I reckon.
“But that No.6 spot for all the guys who have had a couple of good seasons — there’s every chance they can knuckle down that spot and get an opportunity.
“I want to make that my spot. Hopefully, if I make a good start to the Shield season, I can make that my spot.”
Cartwright, who bowls right-arm medium pace, has also set his sights on a series of big scores for WA in the domestic one-day cup competition.
The Zimbabwe-born allrounder played just two games for Australia in the recent ODI series in India.
He failed on both occasions, scoring just one run each time as a makeshift opener in the first two ODIs before being dropped.
Despite the lean run, Cartwright said he learned a lot from the experience — his first in Australia’s ODI set-up.
—SBS