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John Morrison (cricketer)

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John Morrison

MNZM
Personal information
Full name
John Francis MacLean Morrison
Born (1947-08-27) 27 August 1947 (age 77)
Wellington, New Zealand
NicknameMystery
BattingRight-handed
BowlingSlow left-arm orthodox
RoleBatsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 128)29 December 1973 v Australia
Last Test19 March 1982 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 20)9 March 1975 v England
Last ODI17 March 1983 v Australia
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1965/66–1966/67Central Districts
1967/68–1983/84Wellington
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 17 18 126 54
Runs scored 656 252 6,142 1,312
Batting average 22.62 21.00 30.71 31.23
100s/50s 1/3 0/1 7/32 0/10
Top score 117 55 180* 89
Balls bowled 264 283 4,407 576
Wickets 2 8 51 12
Bowling average 35.50 24.87 31.50 34.75
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 2/52 3/24 5/69 3/24
Catches/stumpings 9/– 6/– 133/– 21/–
Source: Cricinfo, 3 December 2016

John Francis Maclean Morrison MNZM (born 27 August 1947) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played 17 Test matches and 18 One Day Internationals for New Zealand. From 1998 to 2013, he was a Wellington City Councillor; his political career ended when he stood for mayor in 2013.

Cricket career

A dogged right-handed opening batsman who was born at Wellington in 1947, Morrison was also known for his occasional left-arm spin bowling, including his 'mystery' delivery.[1] After several seasons of moderate performances in domestic cricket he hit 180 not out (which remained his highest first-class score) for Wellington against Northern Districts at Wellington in 1972–73,[2] and was selected for the next season's tour of Australia. In the three-Test series he was the leading run-scorer on either side, with 249 at an average of 41.50. He hit 117, his only Test century, in the Second Test at Sydney.[3] He never regained that Test form, although he did enough to be selected in the International Wanderers XI tour of South Africa in 1975–76.[4]

His best first-class bowling came for Wellington against Auckland at Auckland in 1977–78, when he took 5 for 69 in Auckland's second innings and followed up with 106 to lead a run chase which ended with Wellington losing by four runs.[5]

Local-body politics

Since retiring from playing, Morrison has worked as a commentator and in local politics, including serving on the Wellington City Council for the Western Ward since 1998.[6] As councilor, Morrison worked to bring an Aussie Rules match to Wellington.[7] A match was held on Anzac Day 2013 between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans. Shortly afterwards Morrison and businessman John Dow brokered a deal with Australian firm CallActive to bring "300 to 500" call-centre jobs to Wellington.[8]

In May 2013, Morrison announced his candidacy for the Wellington mayoralty at the 2013 local elections.[9] He was unsuccessful in challenging incumbent mayor Celia Wade-Brown, meaning that he was no longer on Wellington City Council, as he had contested the mayoralty only.[10]

In July 2019, a new centre-right political party, the Wellington Party, announced candidates for the 2019 local government elections would include Morrison.[11] However, he did not appear on the final list of candidates.

Other roles

After finishing as a Wellington City Councillor in 2013, Morrison took on a role as CallActive's business development manager but left before the centre went into liquidation in 2015.[12]

Honours and awards

In the 2009 Queen's Birthday Honours, Morrison was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to cricket and the community.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Mystery and the Mouth". Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Wellington v Northern Districts 1972-73". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ^ Phil Wilkins, "New Zealand in Australia, 1973-74", Wisden 1975, pp. 930–43.
  4. ^ "International Wanderers to South Africa: Mar/Apr 1976". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Auckland v Wellington 1977-78". Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ "I Wish I Was John Cleese". Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Aussie Rules Coming to Wellington?". 3 News. 18 April 2012. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Wellington grabs jobs off Aussies". TVNZ. 29 May 2013.
  9. ^ McBride, Kerry (23 May 2013). "Morrison throws hat in ring for mayor". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. ^ Katie Chapman; Tessa Johnstone; Kerry McBride (12 October 2013). "Three more years for Wade-Brown". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Centre-right 'Wellington Party' to contest council elections". Stuff. 12 July 2019.
  12. ^ "2000 broken hopes at failed Wellington call centre". Stuff. 29 November 2015.
  13. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2009". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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