Probably my best chance to play in India: Morris

Australia face a major dilemma ahead of the marquee Border-Gavaskar Test series in India, with the injury to Mitchell Starc ruling him out of the opener. Whilst having an attack of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland definitely gives Australia consistency and accuracy, the lack of genuine X-factor pace could harm them. 

That’s where the management could look towards the 24-year-old speedster Lance Morris, who might have more than a chance of making his debut in the marquee series. The Western Australian speedster averages just above 25 in his 18 First-Class games and has earned quite a raving tag from the Australian cricketers. Morris has no doubt on his debut, stating that he is doing ‘absolutely everything possible to be ready’ for the Test against India. 

"I am doing absolutely everything I can to be as ready as possible," Morris said. "If we're talking honestly, that's probably my best chance of playing over there. We'll see what happens.

"It's my first overseas tour in a cricketing sense, so it will be a huge learning experience for me,” he added.

Morris was part of the Australian setup during their ruthless series win over South Africa, and could have made his Test debut if the last Test was played at any other venue apart from Sydney. 

"It's nice to be back competing. I was probably bowling to the back of the net for about four or five weeks there, so it's nice to be out there in the middle and bowling to some of the best batters going around at the moment,” he recollected. 

When Morris made his entry into the Australian cricketing circuit, he was most famously hailed as the ‘Wild Thing’, a tag that has stuck with him ever since. 

"I've probably just come to terms with it. First, I resisted it a bit, so it stuck even harder. I saw Shaun Tait has passed the baton apparently. We'll take it,” he insisted.

"It's been around for a while. It's just white noise for me. It's at WA level as well, that's where it started. I'm stuck with it now. I'm glad there's a bit of buzz. It's pretty cool to see. I'm just excited to get out there and bowl fast."

There is a strong opportunity that Australia could hand a debut to Morris but as things stand, the 24-year-old just wants to stay as prepared as possible awaiting a call-up to the playing XI.