With only one wicket in the first innings and national selection chief John Inverarity looking on, Victoria’s Fawad Ahmed was given a second chance to impress.

Coming on to bowl in the 14th over of the NSW second innings on the final day of the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG on Saturday, legspinner Ahmed floated his first delivery up into the slot for left-handed slugger David Warner, who casually deposited it over the rope at long on.

It wasn’t quite six and out for Ahmed’s Ashes hopes this summer, but with figures of 1-91 off 21 overs and 0-23 off three against NSW, Ahmed could hardly have claimed to have outbowled Test offspinner Nathan Lyon.

Lyon wasn’t a destroyer either for NSW in the drawn match, claiming 2-58 off 26 overs and 1-109 off 38.2.

But the 25-year-old veteran of 25 Tests looks set to hold his spot for the Ashes opener against England at the Gabba on November 21.

The national squad will be announced by Inverarity in Brisbane on Tuesday.

NSW and Australia captain Michael Clarke praised the efforts of Lyon.

“It was pretty tough on that wicket, a pretty good batting wicket,” Clarke told reporters.

“I thought they both fought exceptionally hard.

“I didn’t get to see Fawad bowl a lot unfortunately because I got out, but he looked like he got the ball to spin a bit more, as did Lyono.

“They did as well as you possibly could on that wicket that didn’t offer much.”

Former Pakistan refugee Ahmed has 63 first-class wickets to his name at an average of 31.66.

The leggie has made his one-day international and T20 International debuts for Australia in 2013 and his Victoria captain Matthew Wade is confident Ahmed can push his name forward to the selection panel as the summer goes on.

Ahmed claimed 6-68 in Western Australia’s first innings in the Shield clash at the MCG last month.

“He’s training really, really hard and you’ve got to be careful you don’t do too much,” Wade said.

“I think he just needs to relax a little bit.

“With six games before Christmas he’s going to have to chill out a little bit and let himself get into a rhythm.”