Australia vs West Indies: Aussies near perfect, but bowling attack lacks killer edge

Not since Mitchell Johnson ransacked England has Australia had a ‘shock and awe’ bowler. Lance Morris would add a welcome dose of spice to the attack, writes Robert Craddock.

The sight of Lance Morris snaring Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in one over convinced Australian selectors he had two things they wanted – shock and awe.

As great as Australia’s attack is, the choice of the “Wild thing’’ – Morris’s nickname in honour of the former owner of the moniker Shaun Tait – in an expanded Test squad is a timely, sensible, exciting move.

It addresses the fact that as well as Australia did against the West Indies in Perth, the home side took 110 overs to bowl out the modestly credentialed tourists who played Australia with respect, not fear.

England has Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Australia can do with a sabre-toothed tiger of its own to scramble a batsman’s radar, as Morris has done when he pushes the speedometer to around 153km/h, a rarity these days.

Morris once broke Shaun Marsh’s bat in half during the Big Bash and while he can top the 150km/h mark, his regular speed is around 145-147km/h, which is equal to most of the game’s express fast men.

Not since Mitchell Johnson ransacked England in 2013 has Australia truly had a “shock and awe’’ bowler, so Morris is a worthy inclusion with the in-form Michael Neser in Australia’s expanded Test squad, even though he probably won’t play in the Adelaide Test.

Lance Morris regularly pushes the 150km/h barrier. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Australia’s batsmen have already been placed on high alert to be wary of his thunderbolts in the nets.

Johnson had England in such a trembling state that Jonathan Trott flew home after the first Test and Kevin Pietersen later wrote that he was sitting in the Brisbane dressing room thinking “I could die today at the f------- Gabbatoir’.’

History’s fastest bowlers often do their quickest work young. Some say Brett Lee was faster at 17 than he was at 27. Jeff Thomson’s quickest work came in his early 20s.

Morris is 24. When he arrived in Perth district cricket he was tossed into first grade as a 17-year-old and initially bowled off just four or five paces.

Australia was on red alert for him after his trapped Labuschagne lbw and had Usman Khawaja caught at slip for a duck in the same over in a Sheffield Shield match in Perth this summer.

Australia is blessed to have four elite bowlers with 200-plus Test wickets. Picture: AFP

It has not been lost on the national selectors that Morris has improved in each of his Shield seasons.

In his first he took 12 wickets at 36.83, then 22 at 27.05 last summer before leading the competition with 29 at 18 this season.

Australia is blessed to have an attack which has four bowlers (Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon) who have taken 200-plus Test wickets.

They keep their collective nerve exceptionally well, hunt as a pack and normally get their prey.

But as the West Indies resistance proceeded from one hour to the next it was clear that while the Windies had a great respect for the Australian attack, the fear factor was not off the charts.

Australia was not getting wickets with the force of their collective aura as they have against so many touring teams in the past, when one wicket could mean four quick ones.

A bit of chilli in the mix will not hurt one bit.

HEROIC HEAD PUTS ALL DOUBT TO BED

—Ben Horne

After drifting for several years as Australian cricket’s floating talent, there is a very specific task looming for Travis Head.

The star batsman had a deceptively big Test match in Perth, not only for his impressive – yet heartbreaking 99 – but particularly for the two key wickets he picked up on the final day hunt for victory.

Head’s 2-25 heroics with the ball were crucial contributions for a tiring and depleted Australian attack and came off the back of his 4-10 miracle against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

Glenn Maxwell’s fractured leg has come as a blow to Australia’s plans for February’s Test tour of India, particularly because there were lingering doubts over Head’s batting in the subcontinent.

But if selectors were hesitating even slightly on Head, his performance in Perth may have extinguished those question marks with the South Australian proving he may have turned into every bit the wicket-taking x-factor Maxwell is.

Travis Head was deceptively impressive in Perth, starring with both bat and ball. Picture: AFP.

Head revealed he has been working closely with Australian assistant Daniel Vettori, one of the greatest left-arm spinners in modern Test history, and reaped the benefits in a brilliant eight-over cameo against the Windies in Perth.

“It’s nice. It’s the first time I’ve bowled this summer. I’ve bowled with Whiz (Vettori) a little bit the last couple of weeks but haven’t bowled much for SACAS this year so it’s nice to contribute,” said Head on Fox Cricket.

Captain Pat Cummins admits he is now having to rethink his bowling plans and whether Head becomes a more regular attacking weapon.

“He’s always been probably underused to be honest in that even when he first started playing ODI cricket, he was almost the fifth bowler and bowled a lot of overs,” said Cummins.

“It’s probably reaffirmed to me that maybe I should bowl him a bit more. He’s off spin, so I think you kind of think whenever he’s bowling maybe sometimes he’s taking some of Nath’s overs, but he just brings something slightly different. I’m really impressed.”

Head has been working hard behind the scenes and may be a more regular part of Australia’s bowling attack. Picture: Getty Images.

West Indian lower order hitter Alzarri Joseph was becoming more than a nuisance bombing boundaries off Nathan Lyon midway through the second session on day five, before captain Pat Cummins enacted a brilliant tactical change to bring back Head.

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey couldn’t get a glove to a chance off the first ball of the over, before Head roared in second ball and cannoned through Joseph’s stumps.

Earlier in the day, Head took the edge of Jason Holder, with Steve Smith taking a superbly athletic diving catch to his left at first-slip from an edge that was travelling and extremely fine.

Adam Gilchrist declared Head had proven himself more than handy as a bowling go-to-man.

“Terrific from Travis Head. He’s more than a part-timer. His shape was perfect,” Gilchrist said on Fox.

Spin genius Kerry O’Keeffe said he had also noticed the improvement in Head’s work over the past 12 months.

“He’s a much better off-spinner than he once was. He’s got better,” said O’Keeffe on Fox.