Bruce Morrison (cricketer)
Bruce Donald Morrison was a New Zealand cricketer who played one Test match in 1963. He bowled right-arm medium pace and was a left-handed tail-end batsman.
Biography
Born in Lower Hutt, Morrison first appeared for his local side, Hutt Valley, in an away game at Nelson in the Hawke Cup in December 1951. Aged 20, he made his first class debut for Wellington against Otago at the Basin Reserve on 7 January 1954. He made an immediate impact, taking 4–70 in Otago's first innings and then 7–42 in their second. In his next game he continued his fine form, taking 5–60 against Auckland at Eden Park and scoring 33 not out with the bat. He finished the season with 22 wickets at an average of only 16.68.The highlight of Morrison's next season was Wellington's tour match against the MCC, when he picked up the wickets of Trevor Bailey, Bill Edrich and Colin Cowdrey at the Basin Reserve. He finished the season with 16 wickets at nearly 30 apiece. In 1955–56 he had a better season, with 7–68 against Central Districts being the stand-out performance, and a final haul of 24 wickets for the season. While the 1956–57 season was good it wasn't until 1960–61, 1961–62 and especially 1962–63 coming at a cost of 129 runs. He was not selected for the Third Test.
Morrison played two more first-class seasons for Wellington. His final match was against the touring Pakistanis in January 1965. He continued to play for Hutt Valley in the Hawke Cup until the 1967–68 season.
In 1997–98 Morrison was the joint first winner of the Bert Sutcliffe Medal, which recognises outstanding services to cricket in New Zealand, in recognition of his work for junior cricket in the Wellington area. He was also a Wellington selector for some years. He ran a sports goods business in Hutt Valley before retiring to live in Trentham.
Morrison died in Hutt Hospital, Lower Hutt, on 23 September 2025, at the age of 91.