Fast bowler Lance Morris is looking forward to the marquee Border-Gavaskar Test series in India, which will be his maiden international tour away from home, and says he is doing “absolutely everything” to be as ready as possible.

Morris, the 24-year-old fast bowler from Western Australia, will be in contention for a debut in the first Test in Nagpur, with fast bowler Mitchell Starc unavailable for it owing to a tendon injury in his left index finger.

“I am doing absolutely everything I can to be as ready as possible,” Morris said. “If we’re talking honestly, that’s probably my best chance of playing over there. We’ll see what happens.

“It’s my first overseas tour in a cricketing sense, so it will be a huge learning experience for me.”

Morris, who averages a shade over 25 in 18 first-class games and is the leading wicket-taker in Sheffield Shield this season, spent some quality time with the Australia squad during the Test series against South Africa at home. “It’s nice to be back competing. I was probably bowling to the back of the net for about four or five weeks there, so it’s nice to be out there in the middle and bowling to some of the best batters going around at the moment.

The tearaway quick is currently plying his trade for Perth Scorchers and looking to clock the necessary overs to keep his body ready for the toil on Indian pitches. “If I’m playing [in the BBL], then I’ll bowl my four overs in and try and get a few more in on top, either before or after the game,” Morris said. “If I’m on the sidelines, then I’ll be out the back of the nets just making sure I have the numbers under my belt.”

Morris is also called the ‘Wild Thing’ in the Australian cricket circles and he shed some light on how that nickname stuck. “I’ve probably just come to terms with it,” Morris said. “First I resisted it a bit, so it stuck even harder. I saw Shaun Tait has passed the baton apparently. We’ll take it.

“It’s been around for a while. It’s just white noise for me. It’s at WA level as well, that’s where it started. I’m stuck with it now. I’m glad there’s a bit of buzz. It’s pretty cool to see. I’m just excited to get out there and bowl fast.”