Marcus Harris has looked every inch an Ashes Test opener in waiting with his latest brilliant hundred in England while Peter Handscomb also reinforced his claims with a county championship ton.
The two Australian international batters showed their class, making light of the more challenging, damp early-season conditions on Saturday with their three-figure contributions in the first round of county matches.
Harris starred at Cardiff, dragging Gloucestershire back into their championship match against Glamorgan with a quality knock of 148 off 192 balls.
The left-hander, who'd scored an accomplished 59 in the first innings too, appeared quite undaunted by having to launch Gloucester's second innings with a 239-run deficit as he and Chris Dent put on 161 for the first wicket.
Making his fourth first-class hundred for Gloucestershire, Harris, on a pitch that appeared to be flattening out as the match progressed, was able to be more expansive than first time around as he stroked 16 boundaries on the way to reaching three figures off 131 balls.
He hit four more fours before finally getting a bit too heady, trapped lbw while attempting a reserve sweep off a Kiran Carlson yorker, as he did most to take Gloucestershire to 5-373, a lead of 134 going into Sunday's final day.
But Harris, who's just been given an Australian central contract, looked in the sort of confident form to be a prime contender to open the batting at the World Test Championship final at the Oval.
At Headingley, Handscomb, who enjoyed a solid tour to India, also made a hundred for Leicestershire against Yorkshire, batting alongside a player who could potentially be an Ashes adversary this summer, England teenager Rehan Ahmed.
Handscomb, who'd survived a drop on 41 on Friday on the way to finishing the day unbeaten on 62, went on to make 112 with spinner Ahmed showing his allround credentials alongside with his 85.
The Anglo-Aussie pair put on 141 for the sixth wicket as the visitors responded to Yorkshire's 515 by reaching 415.
Handscomb's 112 came off 201 balls, including 18 boundaries, but he was left relieved to make his 20th first-class ton because he could easily have been run out on 99 when he scrambled for an ill-judged single.
James Wharton at short cover just missed with a run-out shy that would have sent the Victorian back to the pavilion. Instead, he was able to celebrate becoming only the seventh Leicestershire player to make a century on debut.
When Yorkshire batted again, Wharton made 52 and West Indian Test batter Shai Hope 83no on debut as they reached 4-220 for a lead of 322.
With PA
