Kurtis Patterson has returned to cricket after three months on the sideline.
The St George and Australia batsman, who suffered a quadriceps injury late last year, made his return from injury for NSW in their Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday, his first match of red ball cricket since October.
Patterson scored a half century in his comeback, top scoring with 54 to help NSW to 310, a first innings deficit of 121.
The Blues required 248 more runs for victory on the final day on Monday, with NSW 1-41 at the resumption of play.
NSW coach Phil Jaques said the inclusion of Patterson and Test spinner Nathan Lyon, who took three wickets in the first innings, gave his squad a strong injection of international experience.
"We've been able to put some good sides together all season and having those guys back in the mix, it certainly adds to our squad depth, which is fantastic," Jaques said.
"Having someone with international experience to come back into our side, who are both class acts, it certainly does improve our team.
"We're happy to have them around the Blues family and hopefully we can get the business done against Victoria."
Victoria declared their second innings closed at 1-168 late on Sunday, a lead of 288 runs, with St George representatives Trent Copeland and Moises Henriques also lining up for the Blues.