Quick bowler Lance Morris has suffered a quad strain in training, casting doubt on his immediate return to action. The injury is expected to sideline him for a brief period, with the aim of returning before the end of October.
Morris, who made his international debut against West Indies last season, was carefully managed in his return to action after recovering from back problems. He played for South Australia in Sydney in late September but will miss Western Australia’s one-day game against Queensland on Sunday.
The 24-year-old is targeting the October 25 clash with Tasmania at the WACA as his return date. A fully fit Morris would be in contention for the Australia A four-day or Australia ODI squads, which are due to be named early next week.
Speaking last month, Morris expressed his hope to play Sheffield Shield cricket in the early part of the season. However, he will now miss the match against Tasmania from October 20. WA’s next Shield match against Tasmania on November 1 overlaps with the first Australia A game against India A and the start of the ODI series against Pakistan.
“Frustrating to have to stop for a couple of months. I’m at that stage in my career with a Cricket Australia contract…. it’s a transition into a 12-month cricketer,” Morris told ESPNcricinfo. “But the silver lining is I’ve stayed fit and I feel stronger than ever. Whereas if I ignored it and cracked on with things, there’s every likelihood that I would spend 12 months on the sidelines.”
Meanwhile, Mahli Beardman is set to make his first appearance of the season for Western Australia. The young fast bowler was surprisingly called up to Australia’s squad in England last month but was never officially added to the touring party.
