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.
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| Full name | John Francis MacLean Morrison | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 27 August 1947 Wellington, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Mystery | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 3 December 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cricket career
editA 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
editSince 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
editAfter 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
editIn 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
edit- ^ "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.