DAVID Warner has blazed his way back into Test contention with a rapid 193 for Australia A against South Africa A in Pretoria.

The dynamic left hander now appears certain to play in the third Test at Old Trafford, beginning next Thursday.

Dismissed on the last ball of the day, Warner faced just 226 deliveries, hitting 29 fours and a six batting at number four, as Australia A romped to 5-399 at stumps. Glenn Maxwell was unbeaten on 103.

After persistent middle order collapses in this Ashes series Australia has been crying out for some positive news on the batting front and Warner has provided it.

"It's a weight off my shoulders,'' Warner admitted on 2ky Sport radio this morning. "I haven't played a lot of cricket over the last 30 days so it is exciting.''

"I've had a lot of congratulations and well dones,'' he said when asked if he had been contacted from England.

Asked if he was ready for Australian selection he said: "Definitely. My hand has always been up. It is always good to have confidence and time in the middle. Hopefully I do get picked."

He will return to England on Sunday, the last day of a three-day match between Australia and Sussex at Hove.

That match now holds extra significance for Phil Hughes and Steve Smith to make a score that will keep their place in the Test team.

Both made fine half-centuries in the first innings of the opening Test at Trent Bridge but have failed three times since.

While Usman Khawaja, top-scored with a gutsy 54 in the second innings of the second Test at Lord’s after replacing Ed Cowan in the team, Smith made only 2 and 1, although he claimed four wickets for the match, while Hughes managed just 1and 1. Australia tumbled to a 347-run defeat.

An opening batsman since his international career took off two years ago, Warner was pencilled in to bat at number six on this tour to get him away from the moving ball.

However the bar room punch aimed at England’s Joe Root after a Champions Trophy match in Birmingham last month cost Warner a month’s suspension.

This robbed him of playing in lead-up matches against Somerset and Worcester before the first Test.

Instead of risking Warner without any form he was sent on the Australia A tour of southern Africa to get some cricket.

He failed against a Zimbabwe XI, making just 6 and 11, but his potent performance yesterday will prove an enormous springboard for the 26-year-old.

Coach Darren Lehmann and captain Michael Clarke have been lamenting the fact that unlike some of England’s batsmen, no Australian has been able to dig in and score a century in the first two Tests.

Australia’s highest score is the 98 that 19-year-old spinner Ashton Agar made on debut at Trent Bridge.