When it involves batting within the nets, there’s one bowler on the prime of Josh Hazlewood’s “Do Not Face” checklist – and he is edging ever nearer to a Test debut.
It’s been a whirlwind month for Lance “The Wild Thing” Morris, one of many quickest bowlers within the nation.
Having by no means beforehand been included in a Test squad, he was referred to as in as a alternative possibility for the second match in opposition to West Indies however appeared caught behind Scott Boland and Michael Neser.
But an harm to Mitch Starc, the possibility to experiment with the bowling assault in a dead-rubber Test, and a two-paced SCG wicket have all mixed to place 24-year-old Morris on the cusp of his first saggy inexperienced.
Australia have remained tight-lipped on their choice plans for the third Test in opposition to South Africa however coach Andrew McDonald has stated any configuration is feasible and Morris is firmly within the combine.
If Australia are chasing a like-for-like alternative for Starc, Morris is their man.
“Lance obviously brings that extra pace that we probably lack with Starcy (injured),” fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood instructed reporters.
“Usually when you get that in a youngster, they spray them around a bit, but his accuracy is very good for that sort of pace.
“There’s fairly various guys on my ‘not-facing checklist’ (within the nets) and he is on the prime of the tree.”
Hazlewood himself returns to the selection frame post-injury and, having bowled with Morris during lunch breaks in the Boxing Day Test, said the West Australian was pulling the right moves to earn a call-up.
The SCG wicket typically lends itself to spin but with rain forecast Australia could opt to bring three pacemen in as usual, pitting Hazlewood, Boland and Morris in a race to claim what is likely to be two spots after captain Pat Cummins is selected.
“Everyone’s battling everybody for the time being. It’s good to have choices. We’re all a bit bit completely different,” Hazlewood said.
As was the case last summer, Hazlewood has missed the majority of Test matches with a side strain, having last played in the West Indies series opener in Perth.
The 31-year-old has been a lock for selection in recent years as a member of the so-called “large three” pacemen alongside Starc and Cummins but claimed he was not yet aware whether he would play in Sydney.
“I suppose that is what occurs once you miss out with harm, you give different folks a possibility they usually take it,” he stated.
“I feel that is how I obtained my first go along with Ryan Harris sitting out and Peter Siddle injured.
“You get your opportunity then you put pressure on the older guys. I feel like that just comes and goes as your career goes along.
“(But) I’d be undoubtedly disillusioned if I missed out.”
If selected, Morris would become the fourth paceman outside the “large three” selected since the beginning of last summer.
Glenn McGrath, Australia’s most successful paceman and the man behind the annual Sydney Pink Test charitable initiative, had some words of wisdom for Morris if he received his Test call-up.
“Just take pleasure in it,” he stated.
“Get on the market, again your self and the explanation you bought chosen within the first place. You need not do something completely different. It’s in all probability a very good workforce to come back into. The boys are taking part in nicely. They’re profitable.”
