Lance Morris joins Australian ODI squad for Pakistan series

WA speed demon Lance Morris is in the frame to play his first international game since February after being a late inclusion into Australia’s ODI squad to face Pakistan.

West Australian paceman Lance Morris has been added to the Australian one-day squad for the start of the series against Pakistan.

And fellow emerging pacemen Xavier Bartlett and Will Sutherland will join the group later in the series.

Queenslander Bartlett is set to link up with the squad ahead of the second match of the series in Adelaide on Friday while Victoria’s Sutherland will be on standby ahead of game three in Perth next Sunday.

All three were capped earlier this year.

Lance Morris during his Australian debut.

The injury-riddled Morris is in the frame to play his first international match since his debut series against the West Indies in February.

Josh Hazlewood is absent for game one in Melbourne on Monday as he is playing in the Sheffield Shield for NSW.

Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk are set to open for Australia in match one with Travis Head and Mitch Marsh both missing for the births of their respective children.

The three-game series is an important part of Australia’s build-up to the Champions Trophy early next year.

HAZLEWOOD OPTS FOR SHEFFIELD SHIELD OVER ONE-DAYER

Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss Australia’s opening one-day game against Pakistan after being picked to play his first red-ball match since the New Zealand series in March in a one-off Sheffield Shield appearance for NSW against Queensland starting on Friday.

Hazlewood, who is part of Australia’s 14-player ODI squad for the three-match series that begins next Monday at the MCG, takes the place of Mitch Starc, who took seven wickets at the MCG against Victoria but will now turn his attention to national duties.

Hazlewood had to withdraw from what was supposed to be the start of his domestic summer when he woke up sick on the morning of a one-day game between NSW and Victoria.

Sean Abbott, who also played in the Shield match at the MCG, will join Starc in the Australian camp, with the duo likely to form the frontline Australian bowling attack for the opening match, along with ODI captain Pat Cummins.

Aussie quick Josh Hazlewood will play for NSW against Queensland. Picture: Tom Parrish

The collision of domestic and international matches, with several state players involved in the Australia A game against India A, which started in Mackay on Thursday, and others required for ODI duties, have forced states to turn to depth players for the round of Shield matches that begins on Friday.

Test spinner Nathan Lyon, who has played the opening two Shield games for NSW, will get a rest, but Test keeper Alex Carey will captain South Australia against Victoria.

Hazlewood flagged his intention to try to get in roughly 30 overs of red-ball bowling to help prepare for the five-match Test series against India.

Starc bowled 37, which Hazlewood said was “a bit too much”, in his Shield outing.

“I think anything around 30 (overs) is a really good workout … tick all those boxes with the back-to-back bowling and just get those miles in the legs and get ready for Test cricket,” he said.

The collision of games will also impact young gun Cooper Connolly, who is playing in the opening game for Australia A but will miss the second clash when he joins the Australian T20 squad, also playing Pakistan.

Originally published as Lance Morris joins Australian ODI squad for Pakistan series