It’ll look the same Lance Morris set to wait for Test debut as Andrew McDonald drops selection hint
Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald has suggested there’ll be no shock call ups for the first Test against Pakistan, despite young quick Lance Morris showing plenty of promise in the build up.
Speaking last week, Morris admitted his role is to shadow the other fast bowlers – a Test debut “unlikely” – but has impressed throughout training.
Despite any temptations to debut the 25-year-old at home in Perth, McDonald stated the side will be similar to the last team that played against England in the fifth Ashes Test.
“Lance put a few under notice there (at training), in particular Marnus (Labuschagne), so it was a good contest, a good hit out, and all the quicks have returned in good order,” he told media.
“In terms of what that means for selection we’ll work through that over the next couple days, but I think it’ll look the same as what it has before.
“We’re there to pick the best XI we can at any given time and I think the World Test Championship has put a premium on every Test match. It’s hard to make, we missed out on the first cycle of it by over-rate of all things, so it’s always tight to get into that final and every Test match counts.
“We adopt that philosophy and we’ll keep that simple across the time myself, George [Bailey] and Tony Dodemaide are making those decisions.”
One spot up for discussion has been the all-rounder position, with Mitch Marsh and Cameron Green both battling for that role.
McDonald confirmed Marsh will be the man playing at home in Perth, but didn’t enter into the debate around the all-rounder potentially shifting up the order when David Warner retires.
“On the back of a strong Ashes campaign it’s likely he’ll start in that number-six position, so (that’s) something to get excited about for the Perth fans, looking to see him play that aggressive role at six,” he said.
“We want him to have that intent he has shown in previous Test matches and one-day cricket, so we’re really excited by what he can bring with both bat and ball and just around the group in general. He’s a person we love having around.”
The only change for Australia from the fifth Ashes Test will likely be the inclusion of Nathan Lyon who has recovered from a calf injury he suffered at Lord’s.
Todd Murphy was the spinner in Australia’s last match but wasn’t included in the squad for the first Test.
McDonald sung the praises of Lyon, describing him as a “huge loss” in the final three matches of the Ashes.
“I think he flies under the radar in conversations at times – we’re happy to have him every time he plays,” he said.
“I think people will reflect when he does finally hang up the boots (just) how important he was to this bowling attack. Internally we recognise that, externally sometimes he’s not recognised as much as he should be.”
