Arthur Morris With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - Fourth Test

Fourth Test

The Fourth Test at Headingley in Leeds saw Morris at his finest; England elected to bat and started strongly with 496 in the first innings, their highest score of the series. On a placid pitch, Morris was one of seven bowlers used as Bradman sought a breakthrough; each of the first three wickets put on century partnerships. Bill Edrich hit a long hop from Morris's left arm unorthodox spin to the boundary to reach his century, before Bedser lifted him high over square leg for six. This prompted Bradman to replace Morris after he conceded 20 runs in five overs as England reached 2/423. Edrich was out when he attempted to pull Johnson to the on side in the large gap between mid-on and square leg, but only hit it in the air to Morris, who completed the catch diving forwards at wide mid-on to leave the score at 4/426, before England collapsed to 496.

England took a 38-run lead after Australia replied with 458. Morris contributed only six while batting with vice-captain Lindsay Hassett, who had been promoted from the middle order to open while Barnes was still injured; Bradman had overlooked reserve opener Brown. Morris chipped Bedser in the air to Ken Cranston at mid-wicket to leave Australia at 1/13. Australia slumped to 3/68 before a middle-order fightback took Australia to 458 early on the fourth morning. England declared at 8/365 early on the fifth morning, leaving Australia to chase 404 runs for victory. Batting into the final day allowed Yardley the right to ask the groundsman to use a heavy roller, which would help to break up the wicket and make the surface more likely to spin and bounce unevenly.

At the time, 404 would have been the highest ever fourth innings score to result in a Test victory for the batting side. Australia had only 345 minutes to reach their target, and the local press wrote them off, predicting that they would be dismissed by lunchtime on a deteriorating wicket expected to favour spin bowlers. Morris and Hassett started slowly, scoring only six runs in the first six overs on a pitch offering spin and bounce. It appeared they were playing carefully at first before deciding whether to try to achieve the target at a later point. In Bedser's second over, the third of the innings, Morris chipped the ball in the air towards mid-wicket, in a similar manner to his first innings dismissal, but this time the ball evaded Cranston. After 15 minutes, Australia had only made 0/10.

After Bedser had bowled three overs, Laker replaced him in the seventh over as Yardely attempted to exploit the turning surface, but 13 runs were taken from his first over. Hassett hit a four and took a single to rotate the strike. Later in the over, Morris hit a four, was beaten by a bouncing ball that hurried off the pitch, before striking another boundary. Despite the expensive Laker over, only 44 runs came in the first hour, meaning that the tourists still needed 360 runs from 285 minutes. The crowd heckled the Australian openers for their slow scoring and they applauded ironically after Morris took a single. After his poor first over, Laker had settled down and conceded only two runs from his next six overs, and "was getting at least one ball every over to turn considerably".

In an attempt to exploit the worn surface, Yardley brought on the part-time left-arm unorthodox spin of Compton to partner Laker. The occasional bowler was inaccurate and Morris struck two fours in his first over to bring up Australia's 50 in 64 minutes. However, Compton's deceived Morris—who danced down the pitch and missed the ball—in the next over, but Evans fumbled the stumping opportunity with the batsman on 32 and Australia at 0/55. Laker beat Morris in the following over with an off break that spun a foot, before Compton removed Hassett for 17 with the score at 57.

Bradman joined Morris with 347 runs needed in 271 minutes. The Australian captain signalled his intentions by reaching 12 in only six minutes. Yardley then called upon the occasional leg spin of Hutton in an attempt to exploit the turning wicket. However, Hutton did not bowl regularly so he had trouble in maintaining his consistency. Morris promptly joined Bradman in the counter-attack, hitting three consecutive fours to reach 51 during Hutton's first over, which Fingleton described as "rather terrible" due to the errant length. Bradman took two fours off Hutton's next over before almost hitting a catch. However, the 20 runs from Hutton's two inaccurate overs had allowed Australia to reach 1/96 from 90 minutes.

In the next over, Compton greatly troubled Bradman, who edged two balls and was dropped once. At the other end, Morris continued to take advantage of Hutton's inaccurate leg breaks, and Australia reached lunch at 1/121, with the opener on 63 and his captain on 35. Hutton had conceded 30 runs in four overs, and in the half hour preceding the interval, Australia had added 64 runs. Although Australia had scored at a reasonable rate, they had also been troubled by many of the deliveries and were expected to face further difficulty if they were to avoid defeat.

Upon resumption, Compton continued as Yardley persisted with his policy of trying to exploit the deteriorating pitch with as much spin as possible. Compton was not a regular bowler and sent down a series of full tosses and long hops that were easily dispatched for runs. Morris struck seven fours in two overs of what Fingleton called "indescribably bad bowling". This sequence included six fours in eight balls. As Morris continued to attack, Compton began to crack under the pressure and his accuracy worsened. Compton had generated trouble for the batsmen by tossing the ball up and beating the bat or inducing edges, but Morris counterattacked with drives. Compton tried to hold back his length to avoid being driven, but the Australian opener pounced on the shorter balls. Morris reached the 90s just 14 minutes after the interval and hit another boundary to reach his century in just over two hours. Morris had added 37 runs since lunch, while Bradman had furthered his total by only three.

The Australian onslaught against the spinners prompted Yardley to take the new ball and replace Compton with his fast men. Bradman reached 50 in 60 minutes and Yardley dropped him soon after. Australia reached 202—halfway to the required total—with 165 minutes remaining, after Morris dispatched consecutive full tosses from Laker to the fence. Bradman then hooked two boundaries, but suffered a fibrositis attack, which put him in significant pain. Drinks were taken during a delay for treatment, and Morris had to shield Bradman from the strike until the skipper’s pain had subsided. Australia reached 250 shortly before tea, with Morris on 133 and Bradman on 92. Bradman then reached his century as the second-wicket stand passed 200.

Morris was given another life on 136, when Laker dropped him at square leg from the bowling of Compton. Bradman was given another life at 108; he advanced two metres down the pitch towards Laker and missed, but Evans fumbled the stumping opportunity. Australia reached tea at 1/292 with Morris on 150. The pair had added 171 during the session. Morris was eventually dismissed by Yardley for 182, after hitting a tired-looking shot to mid-off, having partnered Bradman for a stand of 301 in 217 minutes. He struck 33 fours in 290 minutes of batting. Australia still needed 46 for victory, and went on to win by seven wickets with 15 minutes to spare, setting a new world record for the highest successful Test run-chase.

Morris was rested for the match against Derbyshire immediately after the Headingley Test, which Australia won by an innings, as well as the next match against Glamorgan, which was a rain-affected draw. He returned to score 32 and 20 not out as Australia defeated Warwickshire by nine wickets. Australia faced Lancashire for the second time on the tour; Morris made 49 and 16 as the match ended in a draw. Morris and Barnes put on 123 in the first innings, but their teammates were unable to build on the platform and Australia ended on 321. Morris was rested from the non-first-class match against Durham, which was a rain-affected draw.