Emerging quick Lance Morris admits it's been "frustrating" working his way through another rehab from a back injury, but hopes a cautious approach will prove beneficial as he earmarks playing in the Sheffield Shield ahead of Australia's Test series against India this summer.
The 26-year-old has not played since the ODI series against West Indies in February. After making his international debut in the series opener, Morris claimed two early wickets in the third match in Canberra before suffering a side strain which ended his season .
Morris had been due to line-up for Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket before post-season scans showed a hot spot in his back and he wasn't considered for Australia's current tour of Scotland and England. It was a recurrence of the injury that ruled the West Australian paceman out of the Ashes tour in 2023 .
"It's been a bit frustrating," Morris told ESPNcricinfo. "I guess you call it a stress fracture, but when we scan it, it doesn't have the natural characteristics of a usual stress fracture. So there was some confusion at first around exactly what it was.
"The tricky one for me was I didn't actually have any back pain when I was bowling. I get monthly check-ins with an MRI on my back to make sure things are heading in the right direction. And it's been clearing up... healing, so that's a positive."
While he maintained his fitness levels through running and regular gym, Morris was unable to do any skills work for around eight weeks.
"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," he said.
"I was continually preparing to go [to MLC], but never managed to get over there.
"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."
Dubbed 'The Wild Thing' - in a nod to former tearaway Shaun Tait - Morris garnered considerable attention for his ability to bowl over 150kph. Regarded as arguably the fastest bowler in Australia, he became an enforcer for Western Australia on bouncy WACA decks and rose to the fringes of Australia's Test team over the past couple of seasons.
Having slowly built up his bowling loads, Morris had been left wondering whether he could reach maximum speed again until going "full tilt" in recent weeks restored his confidence.
"The tricky thing with loading up really slowly is that you have restrictions on the pace you can bowl at different intervals," he said. "You sort of wonder how you're going to get back up to top speed.
"But over the last couple of weeks, it's been basically shackles off. It's been nice to let the ball go."
Morris is set to make his return through Australia's domestic 50-over competition starting later this month before eyeing a red-ball comeback in the Sheffield Shield. Three-time defending champions Western Australia start their Shield season against Queensland at the WACA on October 8.
"Conversations so far... basically it's ok to start playing one-day cricket, so [I might play] one of the first two white-ball games," Morris said with WA opening the One-Day competition against New South Wales on September 22 before playing South Australia two days later.
"There will be a little bit of a process in building up and getting ready for Shield cricket. But I think all going well, I should be available for round one or round two. I'm not too sure exactly yet, but we're not far off."
There are four rounds of the Shield before the first Test in Perth. A solid base of competitive cricket might propel Morris into the mix with concerns over Australia's depth behind incumbent pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
"I have no expectations at all. But if the opportunity does arise, hopefully I can jump on it with both hands," Morris said of his Test prospects. "Fingers crossed I can stay on the park this season because I think there could be a few opportunities that arise."
Meanwhile, WA left-arm quick Liam Haskett is set to miss the first half of the Sheffield Shield season as he recovers from a stress fracture in his back.
Post-season scans confirmed a recurrence of an injury Haskett suffered a few years ago. The towering six-foot seven-inch paceman emerged during a breakout debut season when he claimed 20 wickets at 24.75 from six Shield matches. Haskett, 23, starred in the final round with six wickets against Victoria at the Junction Oval, but missed the Shield final against Tasmania due to a heel injury.
"A rough timeline would be getting back towards the end of November-early December, but that could change with a scan result," Haskett told ESPNcricinfo. "It's frustrating coming off the season I had, but we'll keep working towards getting back on the field around the middle part of the season."
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