Tearaway Morris builds towards summer return from back surgery

Lance Morris is resisting the temptation to look too far ahead as the Perth Scorchers firebrand builds towards a long-awaited comeback from back surgery.

The West Australian quick, one of the fastest bowlers in the country when fully fit, is back bowling as he works through the careful stages of his rehabilitation after undergoing pars stabilisation surgery to address a lumbar bone stress injury.

Morris hasn't played a competitive match since March last year and elected to go under the knife last August after experiencing lower back soreness while training with Australia's ODI squad in Darwin.

The 28-year-old hopes the procedure – a similar operation that helped state teammate Cameron Green return to the international arena – will enable him to have an extended run in Scorchers, WA and Australia colours.

New WA coach Beau Casson is optimistic of having the right-armer available for their first game of the domestic season in September.

Morris missed all last summer as the Scorchers claimed their sixth BBL title. He has been encouraged by the progress he's made in his rehabilitation so far, even if he's not yet ready to start making his own predictions about the season ahead.

"I'm building my way back up but tracking really nicely," Morris said in Perth today following the release of the KFC BBL|16 schedule.

"I'm probably bowling about 80 per cent intensity and just working through the gears and taking it slowly and making sure I do it properly so that when I'm back on the pitch I can hopefully stay out there for a while."

It's a deliberately patient approach from a bowler whose pace has long made him one of Australian cricket's most exciting prospects, but whose body has rarely allowed him to build sustained momentum.

Since first breaking into the Test squad in December 2022, Morris has navigated back issues, a side strain and a quad complaint, with his three one-day internationals for Australia in 2024 offering a glimpse of the impact he could make at the top level.

For now, though, his primary focus remains getting one more game under his belt.

"It's as simple as one step in front of another and playing the first game I'm hopefully available for and seeing how I go," Morris said.

"I don't want to set big goals at this point in time when I'm coming back from injury – just playing any cricket anywhere would be nice."

If Morris is fit and firing in time for BBL|16, the Scorchers' campaign will begin in unfamiliar surrounds, with their season opener against Melbourne Renegades to be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on December 12.

The match will be the first Big Bash League fixture staged outside Australia and shapes as a significant step in the competition's push to broaden its audience in cricket's biggest market.

"It's an awesome opportunity to get a whole lot more eyes on the game, and we know we've got a pretty cool product in the BBL," Morris said.

"Hopefully we're opening up a whole new audience when we go over there and kick everything off.

"They're extremely passionate. I've been fortunate enough to travel over there and it feels like a different world. They love cricket and it'll be pretty historic really to play a BBL game over there in front of a whole different audience."

Morris said the Scorchers would lean on Australian T20 captain Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly to help their understanding of the conditions they will face in the season opener.

Marsh and Inglis have a wealth of international and Indian Premier League experience in the subcontinent nation, forming a formidable opening partnership for Lucknow Super Giants during the second half of this year's campaign.

Connolly meanwhile is fresh off a breakout maiden IPL season in 2026 where he scored his first century at professional level in a 491-run campaign averaging 44.63 for Punjab Kings.

"We're lucky enough to have quite a few guys that have played some IPL cricket recently and done really well in 'Ingo' (Josh Inglis), Cooper Connolly and Mitch Marsh," Morris said.

"Having those homegrown players to lean on for some advice will go a long way."

For Morris, however, the prospect of being part of the occasion remains secondary to the simpler milestone of returning to competitive cricket and staying there.