Ashes selectors might already be reconsidering their squad decisions after Michael Neser took a stunning hat-trick in county cricket overnight.
Neser, who was the Sheffield Shield player of the year, was left out of the initial 17-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests.
While the pace attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland would be a tough one to dismantle, Neser did his chances of a late Ashes call up little harm with a magical display of swing bowling for Glamorgan against Yorkshire.
With Yorkshire trailing by 155 runs, Test batter Dawid Malan was trapped lbw to Neser coming around the wicket to the left-hander, playing across a reasonably straight ball.
Neser's next victim came in the form of all-rounder George Hill, who shouldered arms to Neser coming back over the wicket to the right-hander, and lost the top of his off-stump as a result, with the ball moving dramatically from a fifth-stump line to send the bails flying.
Neser then saved his best until last, as Test all-rounder Dom Bess followed the lead of Hill by attempting to leave a viciously in-swinging ball that again cleaned up off-stump and sent Neser's Glamorgan teammates into raptures.
He became the 11th Glamorgan cricketer to take a hat-trick, and the first since Robert Croft in 2010 to do it in the County Championship.
"Pretty stiff ball to face straight up," Neser said of the delivery to Bess after the day's play.
Neser would finish the innings with 7-32 from eleven overs, toppling Yorkshire for 106 as Gamorgan took 196-run lead before rain halted play.
The performance may have left selectors second guessing their decision to include Boland in the initial Ashes squad ahead of the in-form Neser.
"It's disappointing not to be part of that squad, but I've got to look at the positives," Neser told reporters.
"I'm playing cricket here, and if I do get called up I'll get ready to go. Having matches under my belt is far more important than bowling overs in the nets and not playing any games. From a squad point of view, it's probably best I'm playing games and being ready to go if the opportunity arises.
"It would be a special moment if I was selected for the Ashes squad in the back half."
In Sussex, Steve Smith joined Indian great Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease for his first hit-out of the county season, scoring 30 runs before going out lbw to an extremely tight call.
