A dogged right-handed opening batsman who was born at Wellington in 1947,Morrison was also known for his occasional left-arm spin bowling,including his 'mystery' delivery.[1] After several seasons of moderate performances in domestic cricket he hit 180 not out (which remained his highest first-class score) for Wellington against Northern Districts at Wellington in 1972–73,[2] and was selected for the next season's tour of Australia. In the three-Test series he was the leading run-scorer on either side,with 249 at an average of 41.50. He hit 117,his only Test century,in the Second Test at Sydney.[3] He never regained that Test form,although he did enough to be selected in the International Wanderers XI tour of South Africa in 1975–76.[4]
His best first-class bowling came for Wellington against Auckland at Auckland in 1977–78,when he took 5 for 69 in Auckland's second innings and followed up with 106 to lead a run chase which ended with Wellington losing by four runs.[5]
Local-body politics
Since retiring from playing,Morrison has worked as a commentator and in local politics,including serving on the Wellington City Council for the Western Ward since 1998.[6] As councilor,Morrison worked to bring an Aussie Rules match to Wellington.[7] A match was held on Anzac Day 2013 between St Kilda and the Sydney Swans. Shortly afterwards Morrison and businessman John Dow brokered a deal with Australian firm CallActive to bring "300 to 500" call-centre jobs to Wellington.[8]
In May 2013,Morrison announced his candidacy for the Wellington mayoralty at the 2013 local elections.[9] He was unsuccessful in challenging incumbent mayor Celia Wade-Brown,meaning that he was no longer on Wellington City Council,as he had contested the mayoralty only.[10]
In July 2019,a new centre-right political party,the Wellington Party,announced candidates for the 2019 local government elections would include Morrison.[11] However,he did not appear on the final list of candidates.
Other roles
After finishing as a Wellington City Councillor in 2013,Morrison took on a role as CallActive's business development manager but left before the centre went into liquidation in 2015.[12]
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