Arthur Morris

Arthur Robert Morris (19 January 1922 – 22 August 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955.

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

The son of a schoolteacher who played for Waverley Cricket Club in Sydney as a fast bowler, Morris was born on 19 January 1922 in the Sydney seaside suburb of Bondi and spent his early years in the city.

His family moved when he was five to Dungog, then to Newcastle before returning to Sydney in the suburb of Beverly Hills.

By this time, Morris' parents had separated.

His father encouraged him to play sports and he showed promise in a variety of ball sports, particularly cricket, rugby and tennis.

Aged 12, he gained a place as a slow bowler for Newcastle Boys' High School's cricket team.

On Saturday afternoons he played for Blackwall, a team in the local C-grade competition.

Morris attended Canterbury Boys' High School from 1936 to 1939 where he represented the school at cricket and rugby union, and was appointed school captain (head boy) in Year 11.

In his last two years of high school, he was selected for Combined High Schools teams in both crickets—as captain in both years—and rugby.

At the age of 14, he made his debut for St George, and in 1937–38 he was elevated to the second XI.

In a club under-16 competition, the A W Green Shield, Morris took 55 wickets at 5.23, which remains a record.

The following year he was selected for the team as a batsman after captain Bill O'Reilly decided that his left-arm unorthodox spin had less potential.

O'Reilly described him as "moderately skilled" in bowling and noted that he would not have many opportunities with the ball as future Test bowling world record holder Ray Lindwall was also in the team.

O'Reilly quickly moved Morris up to the No. 6 position in the batting order.

After scoring a century against Sydney University, O'Reilly moved him into the opening position without prior notice, where he remained.

While still at high school, Morris was selected to play for the New South Wales Second XI against Victoria in January 1939, his first taste of representative cricket.

However, Morris made only six and three and did not gain further honours.

After finishing his secondary education at the end of 1939, Morris became a clerk in the Prosecutions Branch at Sydney Town Hall.

Originally trained in spin bowling, Morris developed as a batsman during his teens and during the 1940–41 season became the first player in the world to score two centuries on his first-class debut.

His career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Australian Army and gained selection in its rugby union team.

He was chosen to make his debut, aged 18, for New South Wales against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1940–41 season, a season in which there was no Sheffield Shield cricket due to the Second World War.

He scored centuries in both innings, becoming the first player in the world to achieve the feat on debut.

Morris made 148 in the first innings and participated in a second wicket partnership of 261 with Sid Barnes; he added 111 in the second innings, completing his feat on 28 December.

Upon the resumption of cricket in 1946, Morris made his Test debut against England and quickly made himself a core member of the team.

He made a century in his third match and scored twin centuries in the following Test, becoming only the second Australian to do so in an Ashes Test.

His rise was such that he was made a selector during the Invincibles tour after only 18 months in the team.

After the 4–0 series win over England, which was Bradman's farewell series, Morris became Australia's vice-captain and was expected to be its leading batsman.

He started well, scoring two centuries during Australia's first series in the post-Bradman era, a tour to South Africa that saw Australia win the Test series 4–0.

By the end of the South African tour, Morris had amassed nine Test centuries and his batting average was over 65, but thereafter his form declined.

Australia increasingly fell on hard times as the core of Bradman's team aged and retired.

Morris was overlooked for the captaincy and then briefly dropped as his cricketing prowess waned.

His career ended after his first wife became terminally ill.

Later in his life, Morris served as a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground for over twenty years.

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

He was the leading scorer in the Tests on the tour, with three centuries.

His efforts in the Fourth Test at Headingley helped Australia to reach a world record victory target of 404 on the final day.

Morris was named in the Australian Cricket Board's Team of the Century in 2000 and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001.

In his youth, Morris excelled at rugby union as well as cricket, being selected for the state schoolboys' team in both sports.

In 2017, Morris was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.