John Morrison (cricketer)

John Morrison

MNZM
Personal information
Full name	John Francis MacLean Morrison
Born	27 August 1947 (age 77); 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
1965/66–1966/67	Central Districts
1967/68–1983/84	Wellington
Career statistics
	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

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

External links

[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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