Charles Morris (New Zealand cricketer)

Charles Morris
Personal information
Full name
Charles Morris
Born1840
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 May 2016

Charles Morris (born 1840, date of death unknown) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played one first-class match for Otago during the 1863–64 season.[1][2]

An opening batsman who had come to New Zealand from Victoria,[3][4] Morris scored only 1 and 2 in his only match, but he has the distinction of having faced the first delivery in New Zealand first-class cricket. He also scored the first run, and shortly afterwards became the first batsman to be dismissed.[5][6][7] At the time he was the captain of the newly founded North Dunedin Cricket Club.[8]

A few weeks later Morris won a bat for making Otago's equal top score (12) in the match against the touring English team.[9] He was one of only four New Zealand batsmen who reached double figures in the three matches against the English team.[10] He is known to have played club cricket in Dunedin, but no details of his life after 1865 are known.[4]

  1. ^ "Charles Morris". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Charles Morris". CricketArchive. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Cricket". Otago Daily Times: 5. 14 December 1863.
  4. ^ a b McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 95. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ISBN 978 1 905138 98 2 (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)
  5. ^ "Canterbury against Otago". Press: 3. 3 February 1864.
  6. ^ "Otago v Canterbury 1863-64". CricketArchive. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Cricket: Canterbury v Otago". Otago Daily Times: 5. 28 January 1864.
  8. ^ "Dunedin, Monday, February 8". Otago Daily Times: 4. 8 February 1864.
  9. ^ "Presentations". Otago Daily Times: 5. 5 February 1864.
  10. ^ "Cricket". Otago Daily Times: 5. 23 May 1864.