England's Jacob Bethell has staked his claim for an Ashes recall after fighting hard in the clash with Australia A in Brisbane.
As his England teammates tried to avoid slipping to 2-0 at the Gabba, Bethell crafted 71 in England Lions' second innings at nearby Allan Border Field on Sunday.
The batting allrounder last played a Test in August when England lost a thrilling match at The Oval against India.
But with questions surrounding Ollie Pope's future as England's No.3, Bethell will be pushing to be recalled for the third Test at the Adelaide Oval on December 17.
Bethell, who played BBL for the Melbourne Renegades last summer, is averaging 38.71 from his four Tests for England after debuting late last year against New Zealand.
The Lions got to 6-274 in their second innings at stumps on day three, still trailing Australia A by 148.
After slumping to 3-29, England's second XI recovered through Bethell and fellow young gun Asa Tribe.
The pair put on a 169-run stand for the fourth wicket, with Tribe reaching his third first-class century.
Tribe, who has five ODI and 26 T20I caps for Jersey, was able to survive Australia A's dangerous bowling attack featuring Jhye Richardson, Xavier Bartlett, Fergus O'Neill, Beau Webster and Todd Murphy.
He went to stumps 114no, with Matthew Fisher yet to score.
Victorian seamer O'Neill was the pick of the bowlers in the second innings, taking 4-53 from 17 overs - the most of any Australia A bowler.
Australia A declared at 8-588 early on Sunday, after captain Nathan McSweeney's career-best knock of 226 not out.
