Third Test
Following his effort in Bristol, Morris proceeded to the Third Test at Old Trafford. England batted first and made 363. During the innings, Barnes was hit in the kidneys by a Dick Pollard pull shot while fielding at short leg. When Australia started their first innings reply, Barnes was still recuperating after being carried from the field and taken to hospital for a medical examination.
Having dropped Brown for the Test, Barnes's injury left Australia with only Morris as a specialist opener. Off spinner Ian Johnson was deployed as Australia's makeshift second opener. He was unable to make an impact, as Bedser removed him for one, before Pollard trapped Bradman leg before wicket (lbw) to leave Australia at 2/13. The tourists were pinned down as Pollard bowled 17 consecutive overs from his long run, aiming at leg stump. Pollard was reinforced by Bedser, who bowled unchanged for 90 minutes. Morris and Hassett rebuilt the innings, adding 69 for the third wicket in 101 minutes before the latter fell. Miller joined Morris and the pair took the score to 3/126 at stumps, with the latter—who had been the more sedate in the partnership—on 48.
Australia struggled against the new ball in the first hour of the day three. Miller played and missed three times in one over before being trapped lbw for 31; the tourists added only nine runs in the first hour. Four runs later, Morris reached 51 and fell to Bedser, leaving Australia at 5/139. It had been a slow morning for Morris—he took 21 minutes to add a single to his overnight total and reached 50 after taking another 24 minutes to register his second run of the day. Australia fell for 221, narrowly avoiding the follow on, and England declared at 3/174 on the last morning after many rain delays. This left Bradman’s team with a victory target of 317, but the rain kept falling and the entire morning was lost.
Play finally began after the tea, and the pitch played very slowly because of the excess moisture. As Australia had no intention of chasing the runs, England captain Norman Yardley often installed seven men in close catching positions. In the first half hour, the tourists showed little attacking intent and scored only six runs. Johnson then fell for six to leave Australia at 1/10. Bradman came to the crease and played 11 balls without scoring while Morris scored two streaky fours from Bedser. Yardley used his spinners for an hour, while Morris and Bradman made little effort to score. For 105 minutes, Morris stayed at one end and Bradman at the other; neither looked to rotate the strike by taking singles. The Australian skipper faced only eight balls from Morris's main end, and at one point was so startled when his partner wanted a single that he sent him back. Thereafter, the tourists batted steadily and defensively to ensure a draw. They ended at 1/92 from 61 overs, a run rate of 1.50, with 35 maidens; this was the slowest innings run rate for the series to date. Morris finished unbeaten on 54, his fourth consecutive half-century during the Test series. The match finally ended after a series of periodic rain interruptions.
Morris struck 109 against Middlesex in the following tour match at Lord’s.The hosts batted first and made 203, and Australia stumbled to 3/53 before Morris combined with Sam Loxton (123) for a 172-run fourth-wicket stand. Australia recovered to reach 317 and went on to a ten-wicket win. Morris's century meant he had amassed 504 runs in just over a week of cricket.
Read more about this topic: Arthur Morris With The Australian Cricket Team In England In 1948
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