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Uncapped pacer Lance Morris has been included in Australia's 14-man squad for the first Test against Pakistan in Perth, which will be played from December 14 onwards.
Morris, nicknamed 'The Wild Thing' for his ferocious pace, has enjoyed a great start to his first-class career, taking 74 wickets in just 22 games so far at an average of 25.44. He could be making his Test debut in front of his home fans in the state of Western Australia. Capable of bowling 150-kmph deliveries with ease, Morris returned to the Sheffield Shield after a back injury. He played like an injury never happened, taking 11 wickets in just three matches. Morris joins the likes of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland in a world-class pace attack. Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh, both pace-bowling all-rounders, are selected and will likely battle for one slot in the XI, while off-spinner Nathan Lyon beat Todd Murphy for a berth in the squad after recovering from a calf injury that kept him out of the Ashes series. Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith were predictable batting additions, with David Warner also retaining a vital part of the squad, despite the fact that no backup batsman was picked. Those in contention for a spot in the team, especially Cameron Bancroft, Matt Renshaw, and Marcus Harris, have been chosen to the Prime Minister's XI for an audition against Pakistan on December 6. Men's selection panel chairman George Bailey said that the stars who lifted the ICC World Test Championship earlier this year deserve to return but there are still opportunities for fringe players to contribute in the new WTC cycle of 2023-2025. "This group led by Pat Cummins, has built a strong resume over an extended time period. We believe they have earned the opportunity to start in our first home Test match of the new World Test Championship cycle," said Bailey, as quoted by the ICC. "As ever, there will be opportunities in the short to medium term to break into this squad and we look forward to seeing the continued strong performances from players who have been performing domestically, many of whom will get a tremendous opportunity in the PM's XI fixture against Pakistan later this week," Bailey said. Australia squad: (First Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi. (ANI)
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