Dunsborough’s Lance Morris wins prestigious Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award

After fighting off the flu to help the Perth Scorchers achieve a home final in the Big Bash League, Dunsborough’s Lance Morris has taken home a prestigious cricket award for his outstanding efforts.

The ‘Wild Thing’ was named the 2023 Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year during the Australian Cricket Awards on Monday.

“I guess just being a part of the Australian Cricket set-up is amazing,” he said in an interview during the award ceremony.

“I’m so grateful for all the guys just being so welcoming and embracing me into the team environment, so it’s pretty special.”

Morris said it was “huge” to join the esteemed list of Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award winners, which include Darren Lehmann, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey, Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee just to name a few.

“It’s huge to me to even be mentioned in the same sentence as them, so it’s pretty special,” he said.

It comes as the 24-year-old fought off the flu in his return to the Perth Scorchers, helping them achieve a home final in their quest to win back-to-back Big Bash League titles.

The Scorchers took on the Sixers at Optus Stadium on Saturday for an express-pass straight through to Saturday’s final.

Although the Scorchers faced a selection challenge with a number of injuries hampering the team, Morris recovered from the flu well enough to return to the side.

After bowling four overs, Morris finished with 0-29 as the Sixers racked up 8-151 at the conclusion of their innings.

While Morris did not bat, an impressive effort from Ashton Turner (84 not out) and Cameron Bancroft (53 not out) helped the Scorchers take the opportunity to host Saturday’s final, surpassing the Sixers’ 3-154 in 18.3 overs.

Meanwhile, Bunbury’s Sam Whiteman was once again absent in the Sydney Thunder’s Eliminator match against Brisbane Heat.

The Thunder, who scraped through to the Big Bash League finals with a three-wicket win over Melbourne Stars, were overwhelmed by the Heat, who won 5-203 to 1-52 in a rain-affected match.

The Heat went on to defeat the Melbourne Renegades by seven wickets to book a date with the Sixers in Thursday’s Challenger match.