Lance Morris’s inclusion in the Test Squad this summer has been an exciting prospect for Australian cricket fans. His rapid pace (and a healthy dose of shiny ball syndrome) have Australian fans and team management salivating at the possibilities of what may be.
But until the growing push for his selection since Mitchell Starc busted the middle finger on his bowling hand, I had assumed it was merely an opportunity to give a young bowler some experience in the Australian setup (and a chance for the Aussie batters to face some wheels in the nets while preparing for Anrich Nortje and co).
It suddenly seems like he is the favourite to don Baggy Green No.465 in Sydney next week.
At just 24, with only 18 first class games to his name, parachuting Morris into the Australian XI ahead of any of Scott Boland, Michael Neser, Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson (long-form fitness concerns noted) seems a strange move for the Australian set-up.
Neser, the most frequent 12th man for Australia over the last four years, should clearly remain above Morris in the pecking order. Since the beginning of the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield season, Neser has taken 132 wickets at the incredible average of just 20.51. It’s an extended period of sustained excellence that very few have ever put together at first class level in Australia. Neser’s track record speaks for itself.
Not to mention, when he has been given the opportunity across his two Tests so far, Neser has excelled, taking seven wickets averaging under 17.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Yes, his two Tests were with the pink ball, and against struggling opponents England and West Indies (the 2021 version of England, that is!), but you can only play the opposition and match conditions presented to you, and Neser has delivered exactly what was expected of the man who came so close for so long to that elusive Test cap, while continuing to build his case with increasingly impressive Shield seasons year-on-year.
At 32, Neser is not as much of a long-term prospect as Morris, 24. But last I checked, this was the Australian Test side, and while one eye is always kept on the horizon, Neser’s age should not be held against him when he is in the best XI available (see: Usman Khawaja). Picking a player on potential, or to “have a look” seems incongruous with the obvious objective of winning every possible Test match.
With a World Test Championship final berth on the horizon, and tantalising tours to India and England in 2023, Neser in his prime is exactly the type of bowler Australia should be turning to in times of need. And with Pat Cummins no longer the batsman he was in the years after his extended back injury layoffs afforded him the opportunity to play grade cricket as a middle-order batsman, shoring up the lower order with a batter of Neser’s quality should never be left out of the conversation.
Morris is an exciting talent, and no doubt a future star. But the stars of the present – the bowlers with extended track records, Test experience, and the likely spearheads of a huge 2023 in Australian Test cricket – should be the first called upon for the third Test in Sydney next week.
The 2023-24 Australian summer, with Pakistan and the West Indies (again!) scheduled to visit, looms as a more appropriate time to start thinking about the next generation.
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