‘Invincible’ Aussie opener Morris dies at 93

Former Australia Test captain Arthur Morris, the leading scorer for his country in the 1948 Ashes series on Don Bradman’s famous Invincibles tour, has passed away at age 93.

Bradman and Morris scored tons in Leeds during that Test, chasing down 404 with seven wickets in hand. Bradman felt Morris was the best left-hander he had ever seen.

England outperformed Australia in every facet of the game on day three of the Ashes opener, setting the tourists a victory target of 412 runs in Cardiff.

His steep rise was interrupted by the Second World War and he had to wait until England arrived in 1946-47 for his Test debut.

Morris made 3533 Test runs at an average of 46.46 and captained Australia in two Tests – in 1951 when Lindsay Hassett was injured and in 1954 when Ian Johnson and Keith Miller were injured.

Morris’ innings of 196 was memorable for another reason, too, as he was at the non-striker’s end when Bradman was bowled for a duck by leg-spinner Eric Hollies in an infamous departure from the Test cricket scene.

He continued to make valuable contributions until he retired, aged 34, after going to the West Indies in 1955.

“We have sadly lost a cherished link with our past”, Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards said on Saturday of Morris’ passing.

Named in the Australian “Team of the Century” in 2000, Morris was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame a year later.

Australian cricket legend Arthur Morris has died aged 93.