Name:

Morris, Arthur R

Date of Birth:

19 Jan 1922

Gender:

Male

Place of Birth:

Bondi, Sydney

Career:

Test: 1946 - 1955
First Class: 1940 - 1955

Teams:

Australia (Country)
NSW (Regional)

1953: Ashes regained by England

Arthur Morris: Australia's finest opening batsman

Arthur Morris was born on January 19, 1922 in Bondi, Sydney.

Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen.

He made his first class debut for the NSW Sheffield Shield team, aged 18, in the 1940–41 season. He scored centuries in both innings with a borrowed bat. His career was interrupted by the war.

Morris made his Test debut against Wally Hammonds English team in the 1st Test in Brisbane in 1946.

He was best known for his star role in Don Bradman's Invincibles side which made an undefeated tour of England in 1948.

On that tour he had two defining moments, the first being his 301-run partnership with Bradman in the fourth Test at Leeds when the Australians produced a then record fourth innings total of 3/404.

His second was in the fifth Test at The Oval, when Morris made a largely forgotten but brilliant 196 as he found himself at the non-striker’s end when Bradman came to the crease for his final innings. Bradman was bowled by a googly for a duck, prompting a standing ovation as he left the field.

Morris hit three centuries and three more fifties in the 1948 tests, to top the averages with 87, better than even Bradman's average of 72.57. Wisden honoured Morris as one of the cricketers of the year for his performance in that series.

In his 46 Tests, Morris scored 3533 runs at an average of 46.48. He scored 12 centuries and his highest score was 206 against England in 1951.

Morris was awarded an MBE in 1974. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001 and being named as an opening batsman in 2000 when the Australian Cricket Board released their Team of the Century. Morris was inducted into ICC's Hall of Fame in 2017.

Arthur Morris died on 22 August 2015.

Legendary English commentator John Arlott summed up the Morris personality best when he described him “one of the best liked cricketers of all time, charming, philosophical and relaxed”.

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter