Exciting West Australian Lance Morris has leapt into the national frame by being flown to Adelaide as injury cover for the second Test, beginning against the West Indies on Thursday.
Morris, 24, and pink ball specialist Michael Neser, who made his Test debut under lights in Adelaide last season, have been called into an extended squad as doubts remain over the fitness of captain and the world’s leading Test bowler, Pat Cummins.
While last season’s Ashes hero Scott Boland will play if Cummins is ruled out with a quad strain, Morris and Neser have been included because of the short turnaround time between Tests and the hectic schedule.
Australia have five Tests in 40 days, two against the West Indies and three against South Africa, before Test tours of India and England and a 50-over World Cup next year.
Morris, referred to by his WA team mates as ‘Wild Thing’, is the leading Sheffield Shield bowler with 27 wickets season.
In 18 first class matches he has 59 wickets at an average of 25.
Lance MorrisCredit:Getty
Writing in The West Australian on Monday, former Australian coach Justin Langer suggested Morris was a “dark-horse selection”.
“His name is quickly becoming synonymous with genuine pace bowling,” Langer wrote.
“Talking to his teammates and opposition players alike, the whispers are becoming deafening about his natural pace.
“In what seems like a dying art, Morris is bowling faster than anyone in the country and his name is starting to be murmured among those that matter.”
