Australia's tearaway speedster Lance Morris is gearing up to make an eagerly awaited comeback to competitive cricket after spending months on the sidelines following a side strain.
Morris suffered the injury during Australia's third ODI against West Indies which was played at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on February 6. Morris had made his international debut for Australia during that series and could only play two games.
Morris was expected to regain his fitness before Australia's white-ball tour of the UK (United Kingdom) however, things didn't go according to plans and his recovery took longer than expected.
"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."
The 26-year-old is expected to return to competitive cricket with the One-Day Cup set to start later this month and is planning to use it to make an impression in the Sheffield Shield in the lead-up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
"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 added.
"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."
"I have no expectations at all. But if the opportunity does arise, hopefully, I can jump on it with both hands," Morris said while talking about his chances of making it to the Test squad. "Fingers crossed I can stay on the park this season because I think there could be a few opportunities that arise."
