Style
Morris was seen as an elegant and aggressive player, and is regarded alongside Clem Hill, Neil Harvey and Allan Border as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. Adept at playing against both pace and spin bowling, he was known for the variety of his shots on both sides of the wicket. Despite standing only five feet nine inches (1.75 m), opponents spoke of his imposing appearance and his apparent air of complete composure at the crease. He had the ability to decide on his stroke early in the ball's flight and employed an unusual defensive technique, shuffling across the stumps to get behind the ball. This created a perception that he was vulnerable to leg before wicket decisions and was vulnerable to losing his leg stump. Deft placement allowed him to pierce the gaps between fielders, and he was especially noted for his cover driving, square cutting and on-driving. Most of all, he was known for his back foot play, especially his pulling and hooking. According to cricket writer Ray Robinson, "no other post-war batsman has rivalled his smashing counter-attacks on bowling swift enough to give the toughest team the tremors…A menacing bouncer colliding with Morris' bat was like a rocky fist against an iron jaw." While many batsmen tended to evade deliveries aimed at the head, Morris was known for standing and hooking. In one interstate match, Miller, one of the world's leading pacemen, bowled an entire eight-ball over of bouncers. Morris hooked the five balls that he faced in the over for 4, 4, 4, 4 and 3.
According to Bradman, Morris' success was due to his powerful wrists and forearms. Bradman interpreted Morris' unorthodox methods—he often defended with his bat not straight—as a sign of genius. Ian Johnson believed that Morris' idiosyncratic technique was a strength, as it disrupted any plans made by the opposition. Contrary to the accepted wisdom of the day, Morris had a penchant for lofting his drives, backing his ability to clear the infield. Benaud rated Morris alongside Neil Harvey as having the best footwork against spin bowling among batsmen after the Second World War. Morris was particularly known for his fast analysis of the length of the ball, and as a result, he quickly and decisively moved forward or back. Morris' productivity declined in the latter half of his career, something he put down to the break-up of his opening pairing with Barnes. Morris' partnerships with his later partners yielded less runs, leading him to remark that "When Siddy went, I lost a lot of support becauses he'd always get ones." Morris was also known for his unselfishness, often sacrificing his wicket after being involved in mix-ups while running between wickets, and he had a reputation for not attempting to finish not out to inflate his average.
However, Morris was regarded as the "bunny" of English medium pace bowler Alec Bedser, who dismissed him 20 times in first-class cricket, including 18 times in Test matches. Bedser dismissed Morris more than any other bowler. Typically, Bedser took Morris' wicket with deliveries pitched on leg stump that moved across him. This perceived dominance is not borne out by statistics; Morris' average was 57.42 in the 37 Test innings in which he faced Bedser, and more than sixty in the 46 first-class innings when the two met. In their last meeting at Test level in 1954–55, Morris scored 153. The pair were very close friends, and Bedser frequently made the point of rebutting criticism of Morris' performance against him. Bedser noted Morris' gracious demeanour despite his struggles, recalling an incident during the 1950–51 season when Morris reached his century during a tour match against the English. Instead of thinking of his difficulties against Bedser, Morris commented on the plight of his English opponents who had suffered harder times. Morris stated that "Bob Berry hasn't got a wicket and John Warr hasn't taken a catch all tour so I'll see what can be done." Morris was then caught by Warr from Berry's bowling without adding to his score.
Morris took only two wickets in Tests, one of them Bedser in 1953; he was rarely used as a bowler and was a reliable catcher. Despite his success, he was a pessimist who claimed to be low on self-confidence, saying that he was always surprised not to be dismissed for a duck. In an interview in 2000, he said, "I wish I had the confidence of some of the players today." After reaching Test cricket, Morris began smoking to relieve tension ahead of an innings.
Read more about this topic: Arthur Morris
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