Fifth Test
Australia proceeded to The Oval for the Fifth Test. England won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch affected by heavy rain prior to the match. With the score at 2/17, Lindwall bowled a bouncer, which Compton hooked. Morris ran from his position at short square leg to take a difficult catch, described by Fingleton as "one of the catches of the season". England collapsed to be all out for 52 as Australia’s pacemen extracted bounce and movement from the pitch.
In contrast, Australia batted with ease, as the overcast skies cleared and sun came out. The debutant Allan Watkins opened the bowling, delivering four overs for 19 runs before the after-effects of a Lindwall blow to the shoulder became too much. The openers passed England's first innings total with ease in less than an hour, and Australia reached 100 at 17:30, with Barnes on 52 and Morris on 47. The tourists reached 117 before Barnes fell to Eric Hollies for 61, ending an opening stand that had been compiled in only 126 minutes. This brought Bradman to the crease late on the first day. As the Australian captain had already announced his retirement after the end of the series, the innings would be his last in Test cricket if Australia batted only once. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as he walked out to the wicket. Yardley led the Englishmen in giving Bradman three cheers, before shaking his hand. The Australian captain needed only four runs for a Test average of 100, but was bowled by Hollies for a second ball duck with a googly that went between bat and pad. Bradman received another large round of applause as he left the arena.
Hassett came in at 2/117 and together with Morris saw Australia to the close at 2/153. Morris was unbeaten on 77, having hooked Hollies for two fours just before stumps. On the second morning, Morris registered his third century of the Test series and his sixth in Ashes matches. The innings had taken 208 minutes and included four fours. Hassett and Morris took the score to 226 before their 109-run stand was broken when Young trapped the former for 37. As the Australians had dismissed their hosts cheaply on the first day and were already well in the lead, they had plenty of time to complete a victory, so Hassett and Morris had no need to take undue risks and scored at a sedate pace. The following batsmen were unable to establish themselves at the crease. Miller made five, before Harvey came to the crease and hit two quick boundaries before being dismissed. Hollies took both wickets.
Loxton came in and accompanied Morris for 39 further runs before falling to Edrich. Lindwall fell for nine before Morris was finally removed for 196, ending an innings noted for his hooking and off-driving. It took a run out to remove Morris; he attempted a quick run after the ball was hit to third man. Morris was called through for a run by Don Tallon, but he was too slow for the substitute fielder Reg Simpson's arm. Australia went on to finish with 389. Morris had scored more than half the runs as the rest of the team struggled against the leg spin of Hollies, who took 5/131. Hollies tossed the ball up repeatedly, coaxing the Australians into attacking balls that spun after pitching on off stump. Morris took four catches for the match as Australia took victory by an innings and 149 runs, sealing a 4–0 Test series triumph.
Read more about this topic: Arthur Morris With The Australian Cricket Team In England In 1948
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