Victoria and Test opener Chris Rogers was unbeaten on 96 on Friday after day three of the Sheffield Shield match against NSW as the 36-year-old continued to reap the benefits of batting tips from Dean Jones.

Former Test No.3 Jones has been encouraging the left-hander to come down the pitch to the spinners with an eye on the upcoming Ashes series against England, which starts in Brisbane on November 21.

Rogers amassed 367 runs at 40.77 in the 2013 Ashes series in England but lost his wicket to offspinner Graeme Swann six times.

The opener will resume on 96 on Saturday’s fourth and final day of play at the MCG with Victoria on 1-175, an overall lead of 58.

Peter Handscomb is on 13 after Rob Quiney (56) shared an opening stand of 140 with Rogers.

Doug Bollinger was the only wicket-taker for the Blues on day three as rain and bad light conspired to allow only 59.4 overs to be bowled.

Rogers hit seven fours and one six from 191 balls, showing more dash then his first-innings 88 when he’d limped to a tally of just 13 at lunch on day one.

Victoria coach Greg Shipperd described six-Test veteran Rogers as a super player.

“Once he identifies something in his game that he wants to fix, he certainly goes about getting it done, works on it, thinks about it, talks to people and usually comes up with the right recipe,” Shipperd said.

“He’s giving himself more options and he’s identified areas to score.

“I think against Swann there’s a potential to be locked down and caught on your crease.

“The fact that he’s thinking about moving down the pitch aggressively and with intent, the fact that he’s perhaps wanting to move in the other direction as well, but also just find gaps, are important things.”

Shipperd said Jones and Rogers had a few batting sessions together recently.

“He (Jones) is certainly one to know how to approach playing that form of bowling. I think that’s been a good pairing and well done to both of them,” Shipperd said.

“The way he has played Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe, two good quality, challenging bowlers, and he’s done a terrific job.”

NSW coach Trevor Bayliss said Rogers, who has batted for over eight-and-a-half hours in the match so far, had shown fantastic concentration.

“He stepped it up a bit today. It’s a class player that can do that,” Bayliss said.

The Blues are keen to chase down any realistic target if Victoria make a declaration midway through the final day’s play, Bayliss said.