Bruce Morrison (cricketer)

Morrison first appeared for his local side, Hutt Valley, in an away game at Nelson in the Hawke Cup in December 1951.[2] Aged 20, he made his first class debut for Wellington against Otago at the Basin Reserve on 7 January 1954. He made an immediate impact, taking 4-70 in Otago’s first innings and then 7-42 in their second (although Otago won a thriller by 3 runs).[3] In his next game he continued his fine form, taking 5-60 v Auckland at Eden Park and scoring 33 not out with the bat.[4] He finished the season with 22 wickets at an average of only 16.68.[5]

The following season Morrison bowled consistently without making the headlines. The highlight was Wellington's tour match against the MCC, when he picked up the wickets of Trevor Bailey, Bill Edrich and Colin Cowdrey at the Basin Reserve.[6] Morrison finished the season well down the bowling averages, with just 16 wickets at nearly 30 apiece.[7]

In 1955-56 he had a better season, with 7-68 against Central Districts being the stand-out performance,[8] and a final haul of 24 wickets for the season. While the 1956-57 season was good (15 wickets at 20.93 apiece) it wasn’t until 1960-61 (11 wickets at 17.81), 1961-62 (16 wickets at 18.93) and especially 1962-63 (27 wickets at 20.55, including 5-41 against Otago at Carisbrook, Dunedin[9]) that he recaptured his early-career form.

Morrison’s wicket-taking in the Plunket Shield in 1962-63 led to selection for his only Test later that season. He was the 96th person capped by New Zealand[10] when he played in the Second Test against England at the Basin Reserve on 1–4 March 1963. England only batted once, winning by an innings, and Morrison was expensive, with his two wickets (Ted Dexter and Peter Parfitt, both in the same over) coming at a cost of 129 runs.[11] He was not selected for the Third Test.

Morrison played two more first-class seasons for Wellington. His final match was against the touring Pakistanis in January 1965. He continued to play for Hutt Valley in the Hawke Cup until the 1967-68 season.[12]

In 1997-98 he was the joint first winner of the Bert Sutcliffe Medal, which recognises outstanding services to cricket in New Zealand, in recognition of his work for junior cricket in the Wellington area.[13]

• Bruce Morrison at ESPNcricinfo
• Bruce Morrison at CricketArchive (subscription required)