A fourth hundred in five innings for Marnus Labuschagne should cement his Test return for the Ashes

The relentlessly run-hungry Marnus Labuschagne is back to his brilliant best and an Ashes return looks set to be his reward.

Labuschagne has all but forced the Australian selectors into picking him for the first Test in Perth next month after yet another century for Queensland.

As his contenders around the country fail on difficult wickets for batters, Labuschagne looked at ease at Adelaide Oval against the reigning Sheffield Shield champions.

Labuschagne went to lunch day two against South Australia unbeaten on 55 and went on to score a fourth century in five innings, bringing it up with a boundary, in 129 balls.

He started the domestic summer as favourite to partner Usman Khawaja in the first Ashes Test – but if there was a betting market, the bookies would have all but closed it by now.

Labuschagne posted scores of 130, 160 and 105 across the opening matches in the Shield and domestic one-day competition before adding another triple-figure score to what looms as an undeniable audition to return to the Test team having been dumped for the mid-year tour of the West Indies.

Tasmanian Jake Weatherald also fired a big shot in the Test bat-off, falling just short of a century of his own, against WA, defying the odds of a nightmare wicket in Hobart.

Weatherald, who managed two half-centuries in the opening round of the Shield to keep his name in Ashes contention, fell for 94 just after the tea break.

His innings came on a wicket that produced 21 wickets in the first four sessions of the match.

Weatherald led the Sheffield Shield run charts last summer and has made a reasonable start with one half-century in the first match.

Batting has been tough at Junction Oval between Victoria and NSW, as the Vics dismissed the Blues for 163 in reply to their 240 on day one.

With national selectors looking for bowling depth ahead of the Ashes, Victorian young gun Fergus O’Neill delivered big-time, snaring 5-26 off 16 overs, including five of the first six wickets to fall.

Scott Boland then wiped out the visitors in his Ashes tune-up and finished with 3-59.