John Morrison (cricketer)

John Morrison

MNZM

Personal information
Full name	John Francis MacLean Morrison
Born	(1947-08-27) 27 August 1947 (age 76) Wellington, New Zealand
Nickname	Mystery
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	New Zealand (1973–1983)
Test debut (cap 128)	29 December 1973 v Australia
Last Test	19 March 1982 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 20)	9 March 1975 v England
Last ODI	17 March 1983 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1965/66–1966/67	Central Districts
1967/68–1983/84	Wellington
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.

External links

• Wellington City Council website profile
• John Morrison at ESPNcricinfo