Alex Doolan determined not to let Big Bash League affect red-ball form Focused: Alex Doolan celebrates a century, and says he won't squander his chances this season. The batsman popularly considered next in line for the Test team, Alex Doolan, has vowed not to let the Big Bash League taint his red-ball form, as happened last summer. The Tasmanian was a late signing for Melbourne Renegades last year, largely on the strength of his double-century Sheffield Shield partnership with Ricky Ponting and an unbeaten 161 in a tour game against South Africa. Doolan was ignored for most of the BBL, but played three matches near the end, which included a typically elegant 30 on debut for the Renegades. But from that point on, the possibility of Doolan being a bolter for the winter Ashes squad came to nothing as he squandered a succession of starts in the last half of the Shield season, averaging only 30 during the period. After solid performances for Australia A over the winter, the 28-year-old surged into contention for this summer's Ashes by outshining NSW's Michael Clarke in the opening shield match of the season with a sparkling 132 that propelled Tasmania to victory. His inability to produce big scores thereafter, including in the rain-affected Australia A match against England, allowed his state captain George Bailey to snare the Test batting vacancy, a decision Doolan himself endorsed. In Doolan's last shield innings before the break for the BBL season, he scored 75 for the Tigers in an innings where no teammate reached 25. Given the sometimes fickle nature of national selection, Doolan said he could not afford to squander another chance this season. "When you get into your late 20s, you're only one form slump away from not being considered again," he said. I know George ... reckons you only really get one crack at Test cricket, so he's going to give it all he's got. It feels a little bit like that to me as well, that if I don't keep the form up then they might look in a different direction. It's good because it keeps you on your toes ... it's an environment of high expectation. Given Doolan had scant limited-overs experience before last summer's BBL, he admitted he was "wet behind the ears" for Twenty20. The right-hander says he is confident he can succeed in the shorter form without threatening the technical traits that have served him well in Shield cricket. "I'm not an Aaron Finch who can hit the ball over the fence at will, so I've got to figure out different ways of scoring off just about every ball," he said. The Big Bash certainly put a dent in my shield form after Christmas [last year], which is no one's fault other than my own. I learnt a lot about what I need to adjust and what processes I have to go through to be successful in both forms ... jumping back and forth. I'd hope it doesn't change anything in my technique. Doolan is also striving to live up to the increased expectations that are coupled with being publicly acknowledged by national selectors as being in contention for the Test team. "It's always in the back of your mind, Test cricket, but to the best of your ability you've got to put it out of your mind," he said. Maybe I haven't done that as well as I should have done, but I'm still learning.