Captain Marcus North says pairing up with youngster Liam Davis to bat Western Australia to a Ryobi One-Day Cup victory was as important to him as his own unbeaten knock as he prepares for the first Ashes Test on November 25.
The Warriors got home against Victoria at the MCG on Saturday night with nine balls to spare and it was the partnership between North and Davis that sealed the result.
A 56-run partnership was born in the first innings before the veteran and youngster returned to chase 130 for victory from the match's last 25 overs.
The Test No.6 finished with an unbeaten 94, while Davis made 108 from 125 balls in a 176-run stand.
North said delivering WA their first points of the domestic season was at the forefront of his mind, not shoring up his Ashes spot.
"I always have pride in my performances don't worry about that. But as captain it was my job to see the team through. I am a senior player and it was my job to lead the batting," North said.
"It's always nice winning against Victoria at the MCG and to be 94 not out is a real bonus."
"It was always going to be a very tough fixture for us. They comprehensively beat last week in WA and they put out one of their strongest bowling attacks."
"So with the young side that we had I am just really proud of the guys."
North said his young team-mates stood up bravely against the Vics and in particular praised Davis, who has scored 257 runs at 128.50 in three Ryobi Cup matches.
"Liam has been in fantastic form. He really led the innings today and it was nice to kind of jump on the back and get a bit of a partnership with him," North said.
"For Liam and I to start well and to finish the game off is pretty pleasing. There are a lot of positive signs we can take out of that."
Michael Hogan, in just his 11th match, was another young Warrior who enjoyed success. The right-arm quick had figures of 0-12 from his six overs in the first innings and then snared five wickets in the night session to finish with 5-44.
"He really stood up today," North said.
"We've got a very young group. It's going to give the guys a lot of confidence."
Bushrangers captain Victorian captain David Hussey told Fox Sports the North-Davis partnership cost Victoria the match.
"It was really good to watch, sadly from our point of view. I was a bit disappointed with our bowlers today," Hussey said.