Towering fast bowler Billy Stanlake has picked the brains of Australia's top three quicks as he prepares his body to play all three forms of cricket this summer.
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The Queensland paceman will travel to India with the Australia A one-day squad on Monday as he continues to press his case for next year's 50-over World Cup.
But the 204cm 23-year-old, capable of bowling more than 150km/h, says he has the gears required to excel in a possible Sheffield Shield return next year.
Stanlake has been in good company given injured trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have been in camp with the A squad in Brisbane this week.
Starc is bowling off his long run but the Hazlewood and Cummins are yet to return to bowling and have been ruled out of Australia's two-Test series against Pakistan, which is likely to take place in October.
Just their presence has helped Stanlake, who's overcome multiple stress fractures and a toe infection to occupy a spot in Cricket Australia's 20-man contract list.
He said he had asked the trio about how to reach a "point where you're just ticking along nicely" and feels he's much closer to that destination than he was 12 months ago.
"The hardest part is getting to that point," he said.
"You know a good soreness and a bad soreness and work out how you can keep your body feeling good ... I definitely learnt from that (toe injury)."
Stanlake has earned international T20 and one-day caps through his Big Bash League and Indian Premier League form, meaning he's no stranger to the challenges of the subcontinent.
Long-form cricket on home soil has proved more elusive - his most recent first-class game was in late 2015 - but the Queensland Bulls quick maintains he hasn't pigeonholed himself as a white-ball specialist.
"It's been a great start getting some cricket into me and I'm sure when the time's right red ball will come," Stanlake said.
"In long form, you need to have those different gears - you can't (bowl at top speed) all day for five days. That's something I'm learning to do.
"But white-ball cricket, I'm going flat out the whole time and that's something I really want to do."
Australian Associated Press
