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Following the first Test against Pakistan in Perth,
Lance Morris was removed from the Australia Test squad to play in the BBL. The
team was reduced to 13 for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
There was much anticipation surrounding Morris’s
possible Test debut in Perth, but Morris will now return to the BBL in order to
be available for the Perth Scorchers’ match against the Hobart Hurricanes on
December 20 at Optus Stadium. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and
Scott Boland are all returning from the ODI World Cup in excellent form.
Boland is still on standby as the first bowling
reserve for the second Test, hence he is not available for the Melbourne Stars.
“Lance has been released for the Melbourne match
but will stay prepared for Test cricket as he remains firmly in our plans for
the summer, should an opportunity arise,” national selector George Bailey
said.
There has been considerable backroom wrangling around
the availability of fringe Australian players between Cricket Australia and the
BBL clubs. Michael Neser was taken out of the Prime Minister’s XI to play in
the Heat’s BBL opener versus Stars because the Brisbane Heat were so upset over
losing four players to the squad for the opening two games of the season.
Boland’s exclusion from the Stars’ BBL opener
surprised Melbourne Renegades coach David Saker.
In the first Test match against Pakistan, when he was
named Player of the Match, all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will continue to be in
the squad as the 12th player despite Cameron Green’s lack of a BBL contract.
Meanwhile, Victoria have named three Test players in
Marcus Harris, Peter Handscomb and Will Pucovski to play in a two-day tour
match against Pakistan at the Junction Oval in Melbourne in the lead-up to the
second Test. The Victoria XI will be comprised of players who do not have BBL
deals, including those three.