At 92, Arthur Morris is the oldest living Australian Test cricketer. The former left-handed opener was named in Australia’s Test team of the century, and has his place among the golden greats.
On the Invincibles tour of England in 1948, he was incredible, scoring 696 runs at 87.00. It was the only time in 20 years that the legendary Don Bradman was outscored in a series.
When Bradman was bowled for nought in his final Test at the Oval in 1948, Morris was at the other end. In fact, Morris made 196 on what he called a ‘wet wicket’ in that innings.
In the then world record chase of 404 in the earlier Test at Leeds, Morris (182) and Bradman (173 not out) starred for Australia on the final day.
It was a privilege to meet Morris and his kind wife Judith in their lovely home in Erina, a serene coastal town 85km from Sydney.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hindu , Morris — his memory remarkably sharp — recalled his playing days.
Predictably, the focus was on Australia’s epic 1948 tour of England. And on Bradman’s dismissal in his final Test innings at the Oval. “There was silence in the ground when Eric Hollies bowled Bradman with a wrong ‘un. He had bowled a couple of leg-spinners earlier. The War was over, and the crowds in that series came to see Bradman play. They were stunned.”
Remembering one of the most gripping moments in cricketing history, Morris said “If it had happened today, if a bowler had got the wicket of such a batsman in his final Test, the fielders would have been all over him. But all that happened was Norman Yardley shouting from mid-on, ‘Jolly-well bowled Hollies.’ That was it.”
Morris said, “After the Test, Bradman gave a farewell speech. He also gave gifts to all his team members. We got cufflinks. It was emotional. There were some who jokingly told me that had I not got all those runs, they would have got to see Bradman bat in the second innings.”
The left-hander — with 3533 runs in 46 Tests — recalled Bradman speaking to him about his rich vein of form during the 1948 series, “He said, ‘I do not know how you do it, but keep doing it.’ Bradman used to play all his shots along the ground. I used to play a lot of lofted shots.”
Morris had fond memories of the Test at Leeds where Australia chased down 404 on the final day, after England had batted in the first session.
“Bradman had some problems against Denis Compton’s Chinaman bowling that day. He came to me and said, ‘Take him on, open him up.’ Then I played a lot of shots against Compton. We won the Test. In the morning, the English papers had said there was no way we could win the Test. This is where we got our satisfaction from,” he said.
On the Invincibles, Morris said, “We had strong batting, good bowling, and great characters. We had Miller, Lindwall, the wicketkeeper Tallon, my opening partner Sid Barnes, and of course, Bradman.”
He came up with some wonderful anecdotes too. “It was getting dark, and Sam Loxton spoke to the umpires to convince them. Then, he said to them, ‘I cannot see you, but can hear you!”
Morris reminisced, “Len Hutton was a fine opening batsman, but it was a tough day with Lindwall nipping the ball around. He got a single, got off strike, and said, ‘Cyril Washbrook (his partner) cannot get the ones!’ Good batsmen rotate the strike.”
A stylish top-order batsman, Morris believed batting was a lot about footwork. “You get back to go forward. You should have that little movement in your back leg to set it up. You cannot get committed on the front foot. Whether it is boxing or tennis, footwork is essential. As a batsman you have to dictate terms to the bowlers with your footwork, not allow them to dominate you.”
It was footwork that enabled Morris to be a terrific player on ‘wet pitches’ during the demanding days of uncovered pitches. A strong back-foot player, he hooked and cut the pacemen. “When you hook, you have to get inside the line of the ball. A lot of batsmen do not do it now.”
He faced several exceptional pace bowlers in his time. “Frank Tyson was fast, Statham was lively too. But Alec Bedser was the toughest. He was accurate and he moved the ball. In fact, Neil Harvey and I spoke about this some time back.”
Morris keeps in touch with Harvey — the only other surviving member of the Invincibles. “He lost his wife some time ago. I went to the funeral. We meet often.”
The Australian made a mention of the modern-day super bats too. “Even the mishits go for six. I had to whack the ball. We have to do with our records now.”
Morris leaves us with a nugget. “It used to take six weeks to England while travelling by sea. In 1948, Bombay was a stopover. But as Bradman looked out of the ship, he saw about ten thousand people outside wanting to see him. He never got out of the ship.”
