241-511: Arthur Robert Morris MBE (19 January 1922 – 22 August 2015) was an Australian cricketer who played 46 Test matches between 1946 and 1955. An opener , Morris is regarded as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. He is best known for his key role in Don Bradman 's Invincibles side, which made an undefeated tour of England in 1948. He was the leading scorer in the Tests on
482-422: A David Jones Second XI. Not knowing anything of his new recruit's abilities, Corish did not allow O'Reilly to bowl until he explicitly complained of only being allowed to field. O'Reilly promptly finished off the opposition's innings by removing the middle and lower order. After an encounter with journalist Johnny Moyes , who wrote glowingly about O'Reilly's skills. While training as a teacher, O'Reilly joined
723-410: A dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal , whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. The order was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V , who created the order to recognise 'such persons, male or female, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render important services to Our Empire'. Equal recognition was to be given for services rendered in
964-468: A sticky wicket . Because of a leak in the covers, one end of the pitch was dry and the other was wet. Australia were bowled out for a low score of 82 but managed to restrict the West Indies to 105. In all 22 wickets fell on the first day, the most in a Test on Australian soil in 50 years. Morris proceeded to reverse the batting order in the second innings, with bowler Ian Johnson and Langley opening
1205-623: A "loose technique" by Neville Cardus , Bradman advised Morris to stick to his approach. Morris responded by scoring 83 and 110 in the traditional pre-Christmas match between New South Wales and Victoria at the Melbourne Cricket Ground , the top score in both innings. However, he was unable to prevent an innings defeat. He was retained for the Third Test in Melbourne , but made only 21 in the first innings. If he had failed
1446-494: A 'hostile' bowler." In 1939, Wisden reflected on Bill O'Reilly's successful 1938 Ashes tour of England: "He is emphatically one of the greatest bowlers of all time." As a batsman , O'Reilly was a competent right-hander, usually batting well down the order . O'Reilly's citation as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1935 said: "He had no pretensions to grace of style or any particular merit, but he could hit tremendously hard and
1687-543: A GBE (in recognition of his role as chairman of the Scottish War Savings Committee) and the award of medal of the order to Lizzie Robinson, a munitions worker. The order had been established primarily as a civilian award; in August 1918, however, not long after its foundation, a number of awards were made to serving naval and military personnel. Four months later, a 'Military Division' was added to
1928-487: A boarder in 1921, where he quickly showed his athletic flair by becoming a member of the school's rugby league , tennis , athletics and cricket teams. He held a state record for the triple jump . At the same time, he also represented the town team. During his time at St Patrick's, O'Reilly developed his ruthless and parsimonious attitude towards bowling. After three years at the Irish Catholic school, funded by
2169-404: A broad riband or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip. Knights Commander and male Commanders wear the badge from a ribbon around the neck; male Officers and Members wear the badge from a ribbon on the left chest; female recipients other than Dames Grand Cross (unless in military uniform) normally wear it from a bow on the left shoulder. An oval eight-pointed star is worn, pinned to
2410-553: A burning building containing explosives. In December 1922 the statutes of the order were amended; there having been a large number of awards for war work prior to this date, these amended statutes placed the order on more of a peacetime footing. For the first time numbers of appointments were limited, with the stipulation that senior awards in the Civil Division were to outnumber those in the Military Division by
2651-452: A century before lunch in a Shield match. The innings took only 82 minutes and Morris promptly returned to his work as a salesman. Morris rounded off his Shield campaign with 110 against South Australia. The Western Australian Cricket Association attempted to lure Morris to switch states, but he declined. Morris was appointed Australian vice-captain under Lindsay Hassett for a five-Test tour of South Africa in 1949–50, narrowly missing out on
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#17327936381042892-453: A circlet bearing the motto of the Order; the reverse bears George V's Royal and Imperial Cypher. (Prior to 1937 Britannia was shown within the circlet.) The size of the badges varies according to rank: the higher classes have slightly larger badges. The badges of Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames Commander, and Commanders are enamelled, with pale blue crosses, crimson circlets and
3133-466: A citizen of a Commonwealth realm can convert their appointment from honorary to substantive, and they then enjoy all privileges of membership of the order, including use of the title of Sir and Dame for the senior two ranks of the Order. (An example of the latter is Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan , who was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order in 2005, and on successful application for British citizenship, held alongside his Irish citizenship,
3374-725: A congratulatory word. Full well did he deserve his sobriquet of 'Tiger'." Of Irish descent, O'Reilly's paternal grandfather Peter emigrated from County Cavan , Ulster in 1865. Arriving in Sydney , he had been a policeman for four years in Ireland and continued in this line of work in New South Wales . He was sent to Deniliquin in the Riverina , where he settled and married another Irish immigrant, Bridget O'Donoghue from Ballinasloe , County Galway . O'Reilly's father, Ernest,
3615-467: A core member of the team. He made a century in his third match and scored twin centuries in the following Test, becoming only the second Australian to do so in an Ashes Test . His rise was such that he was made a selector during the Invincibles tour after only 18 months in the team. After the 4–0 series win over England, which was Bradman's farewell series, Morris became Australia's vice-captain and
3856-544: A disappointment amidst his team's defeat. He failed to pass 25 in either of the following Tests as Australia fell 3–1 behind with a hat-trick of losses and he was dropped for the Fifth Test, ending the series with 223 runs at 31.86. Aside from the First Test century, Morris struggled throughout the entire season, passing fifty on only one other occasion and managing only 382 runs at 31.83. Morris' international farewell
4097-430: A double century stand. The selectors wished to trial other possible choices for the 1948 tour of England, including Brown in the opening position, so wither Barnes or Morris had to sit out. This was decided by a coin toss. Morris lost and did not play; he was given 10 pounds as compensation. Morris thus ended the series with 209 runs at an average of 52.25. Australia won the final Test to seal the series 4–0, and Morris ended
4338-469: A duck in his final Test innings. Morris went on to score 196 in an innings noted for his hooking and off-driving before finally being removed by a run out as Australia reached 389. He scored more than half the runs as the rest of the team struggled against the leg spin of Hollies, who took five wickets. With England having been bowled out for 52 in their first innings, Australia sealed the series 4–0 with an innings victory. Morris took four catches, including
4579-496: A famous dismissal of Compton, who hooked the ball . Morris ran from his position at short square leg to take a difficult catch, described by Fingleton as "one of the catches of the season". In recognition of his performances, Morris was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1949, described as "one of the world's best left-hand batsmen". Neville Cardus, his former critic, praised Morris' performance during
4820-507: A fast bowler, Morris was born on 19 January 1922 in the Sydney seaside suburb of Bondi and spent his early years in the city. His family moved when he was five to Dungog , then to Newcastle before returning to Sydney in the suburb of Beverly Hills . By this time, Morris' parents had separated. His father encouraged him to play sports and he showed promise in a variety of ball sports, particularly cricket, rugby and tennis. Aged 12, he gained
5061-413: A fourth time, it could have allowed another player to claim his position, but Morris secured his place with his maiden Test century, scoring 155 in the second innings, and making the most of an ideal batting surface. After defending stoutly at the beginning of the innings, Morris accelerated his scoring, employing a wide range of strokes to reach 150 in six hours. Morris managed a century in each innings of
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#17327936381045302-402: A full domestic season despite this. The team was captained by Victor Richardson , and O'Reilly publicly described it as the happiest tour he had been on—he was one of several players who did not get along with Bradman. The tour was another triumph for the leg-spin attack of O'Reilly and Grimmett, but O'Reilly was slightly overshadowed by his teammate in the Tests. With 44 wickets, Grimmett set
5543-443: A gold central medallion. Officers' badges are plain silver-gilt, while those of Members are plain silver. From 1917 until 1937, the badge of the order was suspended on a purple ribbon, with a red central stripe being added for the military division in 1918. Since 1937, the ribbon has been rose-pink with pearl-grey edges (with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division). Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear it on
5784-426: A kitchen hand. During a vacation, O'Reilly caught the train from Sydney back to Wingello, which stopped at Bowral mid-journey. There, Wingello were playing the host town in a cricket match, and O'Reilly was persuaded to interrupt his journey to help his teammates. This match marked his first meeting with Bowral's 17-year-old Don Bradman, later to become his Test captain. O'Reilly himself later described thus: How
6025-675: A lot of support because he'd always get ones." Morris was also known for his unselfishness, often sacrificing his wicket after being involved in mix-ups while running between wickets, and he had a reputation for not attempting to finish not out to inflate his average. However, Morris was regarded as the "bunny" of English medium pace bowler Alec Bedser , who dismissed him 20 times in first-class cricket, including 18 times in Test matches. Bedser dismissed Morris more than any other bowler. Typically, Bedser took Morris' wicket with deliveries pitched on leg stump that moved across him. This perceived dominance
6266-423: A match against arch-rivals Victoria, Morris hammered 182 and targeted Test teammate Jack Iverson , who responded poorly to being attacked. The match ended in a draw but stopped Victoria's challenge for interstate supremacy. The attack effectively ended Iverson's run at the top of cricket. However, on his 29th birthday, Morris again fell cheaply to Bedser in a tour match and he found himself eating at table 13 ahead of
6507-680: A more conventional grip, but the 19th century Test bowler Charles Turner , known as "Terror Turner" and famous for his unorthodox ways, told O'Reilly to back his self-styled technique. O'Reilly decided to listen to Turner. After taking a total of 3/88 in a Second XI match against Victoria , O'Reilly made his first-class debut in the 1927–28 season, playing in three matches and taking seven wickets. In his first match, against New Zealand , O'Reilly took 2/37 and 1/53. He then played in what would be his only Sheffield Shield match for several years, going wicketless against Queensland , before returning figures of 4/35 against Tasmania . In 1928, O'Reilly
6748-622: A new record for the number of wickets by an Australian in a Test series, and he raised his Test career total to 216 wickets, beating the then world record of 189 by Englishman Sydney Barnes . O'Reilly took 27 Test wickets at an average of just over 17 runs each: the other bowlers in the Australian team took 27 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly came out ahead of Grimmett, with 95 wickets against Grimmett's 92, and an average of 13.56 against 14.80. O'Reilly also revealed hitherto undiscovered batting talents, making an undefeated 56 in
6989-437: A partnership of 85 in only 46 minutes with Bill Brown that enabled Australia to save the match: having been dropped by Paynter, he hit Hedley Verity for consecutive sixes to take Australia past the follow-on mark. Brown recalled "It was a nice day, and a nice wicket. O'Reilly came in, and I told him I'd take the quicks— Wellard and Farnes —and Tiger [O'Reilly] took Verity." Australia reached 422 and O'Reilly took 2/53 in
7230-521: A period of suffering for O'Reilly at the hands of Bradman, who had hit many fours and sixes from him. Bradman's counter-attack came after he had been dropped twice from O'Reilly's bowling before reaching 30 by Wingello's captain Selby Jeffery. On the first occasion, the ball hit Jeffery in the chest while he was lighting his pipe; soon after the skipper failed to see the ball "in a dense cloud of bluish smoke" as he puffed on his tobacco. The match
7471-490: A place as a slow bowler for Newcastle Boys' High School 's cricket team. On Saturday afternoons he played for Blackwall, a team in the local C-grade competition. Morris attended Canterbury Boys' High School from 1936 to 1939 where he represented the school at cricket and rugby union, and was appointed school captain (head boy) in Year 11. In his last two years of high school, he was selected for Combined High Schools teams in both crickets—as captain in both years—and rugby. At
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7712-661: A productive cricketing relationship. Morris said of Bradman: "He was marvellous. If you had a problem, you could go to him and sort it out. I found him relaxed and straightforward". After scoring 81 for New South Wales in his next match, against the MCC, Morris was selected to make his Test debut in the First Test against England in Brisbane . He failed in his first two Tests, managing just two and five, although Australia won both matches by an innings. Despite being criticised for having
7953-492: A proportion of six to one. Furthermore appointments in the civil division were to be divided equally between UK and overseas awards. With regard to the Medal of the Order (but not the order itself), a distinction was made in 1922 between awards 'for gallantry' and awards 'for meritorious service' (each being appropriately inscribed, and the former having laurel leaves decorating the clasp, the latter oak leaves). In 1933 holders of
8194-524: A regular member of the Australian Test side in the 1932–33 season and he played in all five Tests against England in the infamous Bodyline series. The Australian selectors perceived that O'Reilly would be their key bowler, and as he had never played against the English, omitted him from the early tour matches so that the tourists would not be able to decode his variations. As a result, he missed
8435-545: A scholarship, O'Reilly completed his Leaving Certificate. O'Reilly won a scholarship to the Sydney Teachers College at Sydney University , to train as a schoolmaster. However, the financial assistance was only for two years and merely sufficient for O'Reilly's rent at Glebe Point . When he was in Sydney, O'Reilly received an invitation to join an athletics club based on his performances in Goulburn, but
8676-404: A scholarship. Wingello was a cricket town and "everyone was a cricket crank" according to O'Reilly. It was here that he developed a passion for the game. O'Reilly played in the town's team and also won the regional tennis championships. O'Reilly bowled with an action reminiscent of the windmill that his family erected in the town. However, school life was difficult, especially in the winter, as
8917-452: A spinner (around 188 cm, 6 ft 2 in), he whirled his arms to an unusual extent and had a low point of delivery that meant it was very difficult for the batsman to read the flight of the ball out of his hand. When O'Reilly died, Sir Donald Bradman said that he was the greatest bowler he had ever faced or watched. In 1935, Wisden wrote of him: "O'Reilly was one of the best examples in modern cricket of what could be described as
9158-561: A sticky wicket before stepping on his stumps . Australia looked set for their first Test defeat to South Africa, but an unbeaten Neil Harvey century salvaged a win. Morris returned to form by making 111 and 19 in the drawn Fourth Test in Johannesburg . In between, Morris struck two further centuries in the tour matches, against Border and Transvaal . He finished with a score of 157 in the Fifth Test in Port Elizabeth , laying
9399-502: A team in their area of residence. O'Reilly was selected for the tour of England in 1934, where he and Grimmett were the bowling stars as Australia regained the Ashes . They began by taking 19 of the 20 England wickets to fall in a comfortable victory in the First Test at Trent Bridge . O'Reilly's match figures were 11 wickets for 129 runs, and taking seven for 54 in his second innings was to produce his best Test figures. England then won
9640-480: A total of 149 runs in the first three Tests as Australia took the series lead 2–1. In the Second Test, he had progressed to 42 when he drove Hugh Tayfield into a close fielder. The ball ballooned to mid-off and Tayfield ran back and dived parallel to the ball's trajectory and caught it. By the standards of the era, the catch was regarded as miraculous. He ended the series strongly, with 77 in the second innings of
9881-493: A total of 8/204 in his next two matches, and while the figures were not overwhelming, they were enough to ensure a Test berth; with an unassailable 3–0 lead, the selectors wanted to blood new players. O'Reilly took four wickets on his debut at the Adelaide Oval , two in each innings, supporting the senior leg-spinner, Clarrie Grimmett , who took 14 wickets in the match and with Bradman scoring 299 not out , Australia won
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10122-465: A tour match. Morris' century meant that he had amassed 504 runs in just over a week of cricket. The Fourth Test at Headingley in Leeds saw Morris at his finest; England started well with 496 in the first innings and took a 38-run lead as Australia replied with 458, Morris contributing only six. England declared at 8/365, leaving Australia to chase 404 runs for victory. At the time, this would have been
10363-513: A turning pitch. After Australia had made only 228, O'Reilly trapped Bob Wyatt leg before wicket (lbw) before bowling both the Nawab of Pataudi and Maurice Leyland to leave England at 4/98. He later took two tail-end wickets to end with 5/63 and secure Australia a first innings lead. Defending a target of 251, O'Reilly bowled the leading English opener Herbert Sutcliffe for 33 with a textbook perfect leg break that pitched on leg stump and clipped
10604-523: A world record Test score of 364 in a fastidious and watchful innings of 13 hours, surpassing Bradman's 334. When he was on 333, O'Reilly deliberately bowled two no-balls in an attempt to break Hutton's concentration by tempting him to hit out, but the Englishman blocked them with a straight bat. O'Reilly eventually removed Hutton and ended with 3/178 off 85 overs. Nevertheless, these compared favourably with Fleetwood-Smith's 1/298 off 87 overs. O'Reilly
10845-516: Is an image of Britannia surrounded by the motto, with the words "For Meritorious Service" at the bottom; on the reverse is George V's Imperial and Royal Cypher, with the words "Instituted by King George V" at the bottom. The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim. This medal is nicknamed "the Gong", and comes in both full-sized and miniature versions – the latter for formal white-tie and semi-formal black-tie occasions. A lapel pin for everyday wear
11086-973: Is not a member of the College of Arms , as are many other heraldic officers; and the Lady Usher of the Purple Rod does not – unlike the Order of the Garter equivalent, the Lady Usher of the Black Rod – perform any duties related to the House of Lords . Since the Second World War, several Commonwealth realms have established their own national system of honours and awards and have created their own unique orders, decorations and medals. A number, though, continue to make recommendations for appointments to
11327-463: Is not borne out by statistics; Morris' average was 57.42 in the 37 Test innings in which he faced Bedser, and more than sixty in the 46 first-class innings when the two met. In their last meeting at Test level in 1954–55, Morris scored 153. The pair were very close friends, and Bedser frequently made the point of rebutting criticism of Morris' performance against him. Bedser noted Morris' gracious demeanour despite his struggles, recalling an incident during
11568-468: Is not used to batsmen using their feet to him ... the county batsmen diddle and diddle [shuffle about indecisively instead of quickly moving into position and attacking] to him and that gets him many wickets." Australia promptly crushed the locals by an innings. Morris followed his effort in Bristol with two half centuries, 51 and 54 not out in the drawn Third Test. He then struck 108 against Middlesex in
11809-614: The Australian Services XI in 1945, something that baffled commentators, although he did play a one-off military match in 1943. He returned to his pre-war clerical job at the Sydney Town Hall , but soon switched to a job with motor parts distributor Stack & Company, which allowed him more time for cricket commitments. Morris was automatically restored to the Sheffield Shield team in 1946–47 upon
12050-562: The Australian Services team , which had drawn a series against a full-strength England team. O'Reilly's final first-class cricket came on a four-match tour by an Australian team to New Zealand in early 1946. O'Reilly was the vice-captain of the team, which was led by Bill Brown . The main fixture during the tour was a four-day match against a representative New Zealand side in Wellington , retrospectively designated as
12291-526: The Australian cricket team for the Fourth Test in a badly one-sided series against South Africa . However, matters could have been rather different. O'Reilly had broken into the team for New South Wales' away matches against South Australia and Victoria while the Test players were on international duty. He totaled only 2/81 in the first match and was then informed that he would be dropped after
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#173279363810412532-511: The Fourth Test at Adelaide , making 122 and 124 not out in extremely hot weather. This made him the second Australian after Warren Bardsley to score two centuries in one Ashes Test. With Australia having fallen to 2/24 at the end of play on the second day in response to England's first innings score of 460, Morris combined with Lindsay Hassett , who scored 78, to lead a recovery. After England's Denis Compton scored his second century of
12773-472: The Gentlemen of England . Morris placed third in the aggregates but only ranked sixth in the averages. He made many starts, with 11 fifties, but was only able to capitalise and reached triple figures only once. Speculation linked his difficulties on the field to his personal relationships: during the tour Morris had fallen in love with English showgirl Valerie Hudson; he spotted her when she was performing in
13014-617: The Hunter Region , north of Sydney . He continued to play tennis into his late seventies and enjoyed watching Test cricket although he refused to watch one-day cricket , introduced after his playing days, due to his preference for tradition. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2001, he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame alongside Bill Woodfull ,
13255-404: The Invincibles tour as "masterful, stylish, imperturbable, sure in defence, quick and handsome in stroke play. His batting is true to himself, charming and good mannered but reliant and thoughtful." Morris ended the first-class tour with 1,922 runs at 71.18, despite being troubled by a split between the first and second fingers of his left hand caused by constant jarring from the bat as he played
13496-559: The Order of Canada . On the other hand, the Australian Honours System unilaterally created in 1975 did not achieve bi-partisan support until 1992, which was when Australian federal and state governments agreed to cease Australian recommendations for British honours; the last Australian recommended Order of the British Empire appointments were in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours . New Zealand continued to use
13737-582: The Royal Australian Corps of Transport . During his time in the army, Morris spent more time playing rugby union than cricket. The coach of the Army and Combined Services rugby team, Johnny Wallace, regarded him as the "best five eighth in Australia". He remained a Private throughout his military service and was demobbed on 18 June 1946. Despite his eligibility, Morris was not selected for
13978-670: The Sydney University Regiment , a unit of the Militia Forces (Army Reserve). He did not enjoy his time in the military, and along with most of his peers, regarded the commanding officer as inept. O'Reilly was a non-conformist who did not enjoy taking orders, and was unimpressed with the firearm drills, because the recruits were armed only with wooden sticks. However, he signed up for a second year to raise money for his education. Fed up with military routines he considered to be pointless, O'Reilly volunteered to be
14219-426: The off spinner , having been in prolific form in county cricket . The English hoped that he would be the weapon to cut through Australia's strong batting line-up. Morris' assault ended Goddard's hopes of Test selection. His innings was highlighted by his quick assessment of the pitch of the ball, followed by decisive footwork. Morris confidently went out of his crease when the ball was of a full length and rocked onto
14460-613: The 15 minutes since lunch. He had become the first Australian to hit 20 boundaries in his reaching his century in a Test in England. This forced English captain Norman Yardley to replace Compton, and Australia reached 202—halfway to the required total—with 165 minutes left. When Bradman suffered a fibrositis attack, Morris had to shield him from the strike until it subsided. Morris passed his century and Australia reached tea at 1/288 with Morris on 150. The pair had added 167 during
14701-502: The 1928–29 home series against England following a large number of retirements of older players. In the meantime, O'Reilly taught English to primary school children in Griffith, as well as singing—most of the pieces were Irish. At Rylstone he taught book-keeping and business, and he was promoted to the high school at Kandos. During this time he supplemented his income by travelling from town to town, playing in one-off cricket matches at
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#173279363810414942-406: The 1931–32 season, O'Reilly took 25 wickets at an average of 21 runs per wicket, highlighted by his maiden ten-wicket haul , 5/68 and 5/59 in a home match against South Australia after the Tests were over as New South Wales took out the title. The following year he was more successful, taking 31 wickets at just 14 runs each. New South Wales won the competition in both seasons. O'Reilly became
15183-546: The 1947–48 Australian season strongly, scoring 162 in his second match as New South Wales crushed the touring Indians by an innings ahead of the Tests. He played in the first four Tests, scoring 45 and an unbeaten 100 in the Third Test victory in Melbourne . In that match, he dropped down the order as Bradman used the tail-enders to protect the batsmen from a sticky wicket . Morris then came in and combined with Bradman in
15424-520: The 1950–51 season when Morris reached his century during a tour match against the English. Instead of thinking of his difficulties against Bedser, Morris commented on the plight of his English opponents who had suffered harder times. Morris stated that " Bob Berry hasn't got a wicket and John Warr hasn't taken a catch all tour so I'll see what can be done." Morris was then caught by Warr from Berry's bowling without adding to his score. Morris took only two wickets in Tests, one of them Bedser in 1953; he
15665-473: The 21st century quotas were introduced to ensure consistent representation among recipients across nine categories of eligibility: with the largest proportion of awards being reserved for community, voluntary and local service. Non-military awards of the British Empire Medal resumed in 2012, starting with 293 BEMs awarded for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee . In 2017 the centenary of
15906-540: The Australian Board of Control had earlier vetoed the selection of Barnes "for grounds other than cricketing ability", which was widely believed to be a result of Barnes' previous clashes with authority. Under board's regulations at the time, a replacement player needed the approval of the entire board. Since it was the weekend, some of the members could not be contacted by phone, and as a result Hassett could not be replaced by another specialist batsman from outside
16147-466: The Australian Test averages and aggregates, behind Hassett with 365 at 36.50. Morris' batting was regarded by commentators as being more carefree than during the Invincibles tour. He took his second and final wicket in Test cricket, that of Alec Bedser , in the Third Test at Old Trafford. Morris also struggled in the first-class matches, making 1,302 runs at 38.09 with only one century, which did not come until almost four months had elapsed on tour, against
16388-571: The Australian XI match against the Englishmen in Melbourne. In two Shield matches ahead of the Tests, he took 14 wickets, including a total of 9/66 in an innings win over Queensland. Although the national selectors had hidden him from the Englishmen, New South Wales declined to do so, and he played for his state a week ahead of the Tests. The hosts were bombarded with short-pitched bowling and heavily beaten by an innings; O'Reilly took 4/86 as
16629-502: The British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry , rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service . It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or
16870-792: The British Empire . Rather than using this chapel, the Order now holds its great services upstairs in the nave of the cathedral. In addition to the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire, St Paul's Cathedral also houses the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George . Religious services for the whole Order are held every four years; new Knights and Dames Grand Cross are installed at these services. Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander prefix Sir , and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commander prefix Dame , to their forenames. Wives of Knights may prefix Lady to their surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of Knights or spouses of Dames. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when
17111-494: The British Empire for Gallantry. Any individual made a member of the order for gallantry after 14 January 1958 wears an emblem of two crossed silver oak leaves on the same ribbon as the badge, with a miniature version on the ribbon bar when worn alone. When the ribbon only is worn the emblem is worn in miniature. It could not be awarded posthumously , and was replaced in 1974 with the Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM). If recipients of
17352-459: The Crazy Gang vaudeville show at London's Victoria Palace . The team was also hindered by tension brought on by a generational divide. The senior players, Morris among them, were retired servicemen who were drinkers, while the younger players tended to abstain from alcohol. The seniors frequently stopped the team bus to drink at pubs, leaving their younger colleagues disgruntled at the fact that
17593-588: The Fourth Test in Adelaide , before making his best performances of 99 and 44 in Melbourne in the Fifth Test, which Australia lost by six wickets. Morris' 99 occurred when he was involved in a mix-up while batting with debutant Ian Craig , Australia's youngest ever Test cricketer. Morris decided to sacrifice his wicket for Craig's in a run out . His action meant that he had not scored a Test century for two years, and would have to wait another two years to reach
17834-484: The Fourth Test in Johannesburg , and putting on 69 for the last wicket with Ernie McCormick . It was the only time in his first-class cricket career that he passed 50. During the tour, O'Reilly developed his leg trap ; the opening batsmen Jack Fingleton and Bill Brown were used in these positions. With Bradman's appointment as captain of the Australian team after the South African tour, Clarrie Grimmett
18075-663: The Fourth Test with dysentery . He scored seven in his final Test innings in the Fifth Test, which Australia won by an innings to seal the series 3–0. Morris ended the Test series with 266 runs at 44.33. In his final tour in Australian colours, Morris totalled 577 runs at 57.45 in seven first-class matches. Returning to Sydney after the West Indian tour, Morris learned that his new wife Valerie had been diagnosed with breast cancer in his absence. She had concealed her illness until his return, fearing that it would distract him from his cricket. With his wife's condition deteriorating over
18316-479: The Members' Stand in the First Test. The Australian Board of Control backed down, but it was the start of a tumultuous season. O'Reilly's wickets were at increased cost—his average increased to 22 runs per wicket—and he took five wickets in an innings only once, in the First Test at the 'Gabba in Brisbane, which England won convincingly. The circumstances of the series determined O'Reilly's role: after England won
18557-824: The Military Division of the order from the UK and across the Empire. Recommendations for all appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the King's United Kingdom ministers (recommendations for overseas awards were made by the Foreign Office , the Colonial Office , the India Office and the Dominions Office ); but in the early 1940s the system was changed to enable
18798-570: The North Sydney practice nets and managed to describe the famous bowler's ' Bosie ' action in a letter to Bill. O'Reilly claims to have perfected the action of changing the spin from anticlockwise to clockwise without any discernible hand movement within a couple of days. O'Reilly said that "The bosie became my most prized possession. I practised day in, day out". Ernest decided that the train journeys and frozen limbs were too much for his son, so he sent Bill to St Patrick's College, Goulburn as
19039-436: The Order of the British Empire for Gallantry received promotion within the order, whether for gallantry or otherwise, they continued to wear also the insignia of the lower grade with the oak leaves; however, they used only the post-nominal letters of the higher grade. When the order was founded in 1917, badges, ribands and stars were appointed for wear by recipients. In 1929 mantles, hats and collars were added for recipients of
19280-520: The Order of the British Empire. In 2024 appointments to the order were made by the governments of: Most members of the order are citizens of the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realms that use the UK system of honours and awards. In addition, honorary awards may be made to citizens of nations where the monarch is not head of state ; these permit use of post-nominal letters, but not the title of Sir or Dame . Honorary appointees who later become
19521-404: The Order, however, are not assigned any special precedence. As a general rule, only wives and children of male recipients are afforded privileges. Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also entitled to be granted heraldic supporters . They may, furthermore, encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of
19762-420: The Second Test at Lord's , aided by the weather and Australia's inability to force the issue by avoiding the follow on. The hosts batted first and made 440, O'Reilly removing Walters. In reply, Australia were 2/192 when rain struck on the second evening and the sun turned the pitch into a sticky wicket the next day. When O'Reilly came in at 8/273, only 17 runs were needed to avoid the follow on, but he misjudged
20003-542: The Southern Tablelands were harsh and cold. The O'Reilly children had to leave Wingello at 7.45 am by rail and caught a slow goods train that delivered them home at 7 pm; these vehicles did not provide protection against the weather, and the boys did not participate in any school sport as the only train home left after the end of classes. In the early 1920s, O'Reilly's eldest brother Jack moved to Sydney. One afternoon, Jack watched spin bowler Arthur Mailey in
20244-534: The Tests by amassing 168 for New South Wales against England. However, he made a poor start to the Test series by aggregating only 45 runs in the first three Tests, which included two ducks. Four of his five dismissals came at the hands of Alec Bedser , leading commentators to claim that Bedser had a "hoodoo" on Morris and he was called "Bedser's Bunny". In contrast to his struggles in the Tests, Morris played for an Australian XI and New South Wales in two matches against England during this period, and scored 100 and 105. In
20485-485: The UK and overseas. Today the majority of recipients are UK citizens, though a number of Commonwealth realms outside the UK continue to make appointments to the order. Honorary awards may be made to citizens of other nations of which the order's sovereign is not the head of state. The five classes of appointment to the Order are, from highest grade to lowest grade: The senior two ranks of Knight or Dame Grand Cross and Knight or Dame Commander entitle their members to use
20726-463: The United Kingdom; those who would formerly have met the criteria for the medal were instead made eligible for the MBE. In 2004, a report entitled A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System by a Commons select committee recommended phasing out the Order of the British Empire, as its title was "now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of
20967-450: The addition of a vertical pearl grey stripe in the centre for awards in the military division). From time to time the order was expanded: there was an increase in the maximum permitted number of recipients in 1933, and a further increase in 1937. During the Second World War, as had been the case during and after World War I, the number of military awards was greatly increased; between 1939 and 1946 there were more than 33,000 appointments to
21208-499: The age of 12, the family moved to the town of Wingello . Ernest made the decision because there were no high schools near Murringo and his older children were about to finish primary school. Nevertheless, there was no high school in Wingello where Ernest had been appointed headmaster, so O'Reilly had to catch a train to Goulburn —50 km away—to study at the local public secondary school, where his elder brother Tom had been awarded
21449-528: The age of 14, he made his debut for St George , and in 1937–38 he was elevated to the second XI. In a club under-16 competition, the A W Green Shield, Morris took 55 wickets at 5.23, which remains a record. The following year he was selected for the team as a batsman after captain Bill O'Reilly decided that his left-arm unorthodox spin had less potential. O'Reilly described him as "moderately skilled" in bowling and noted that he would not have many opportunities with
21690-612: The back foot to drive and cut if it was short. On many occasions, he hit Goddard on the full. Unable to contain Morris, Goddard packed the leg side field and bowled outside leg stump . Morris stepped down the wicket, repeatedly lofting the ball over the off side. Morris reached his century by lunch and was 231 by the tea interval. By the time he was dismissed, he had struck 40 fours and a six . Fingleton said that "Morris flayed it [the home team's bowling] in all directions", while former English Test paceman Maurice Tate said "Tom [Goddard]
21931-775: The ball as future Test bowling world record holder Ray Lindwall was also in the team. O'Reilly quickly moved Morris up to the No. 6 position in the batting order. After scoring a century against Sydney University , O'Reilly moved him into the opening position without prior notice, where he remained. While still at high school, Morris was selected to play for the New South Wales Second XI against Victoria in January 1939, his first taste of representative cricket. However, Morris made only six and three and did not gain further honours. After finishing his secondary education at
22172-418: The ball. The wound often opened while he was batting, forcing him to undergo a minor operation, which sidelined him from some matches in the latter part of the tour. With the retirement of Bradman following the 1948 tour, Morris was regarded by commentators as Australia's leading batsman. In the 1948–49 season, he scored 1,049 runs at 66.81 in nine matches with six centuries and two fifties, taking his tally for
22413-520: The ball. This created a perception that he was vulnerable to leg before wicket decisions and was vulnerable to losing his leg stump. Deft placement allowed him to pierce the gaps between fielders, and he was especially noted for his cover driving , square cutting and on-driving . Most of all, he was known for his back foot play, especially his pulling and hooking . According to cricket writer Ray Robinson , "no other post-war batsman has rivalled his smashing counter-attacks on bowling swift enough to give
22654-440: The batting rights. His bowling action was far from the classic leg spin bowler's run-up and delivery, indeed, according to Wisden , "he was asked to make up the numbers in a Sydney junior match and, with a method that at first made everyone giggle, whipped out the opposition". From a young age, O'Reilly was a tall and gangly player. In January 1908, shortly after Bill had turned two, the family moved to Murringo , after Ernest
22895-475: The batting. They were followed by bowlers Geff Noblet and Doug Ring , in order to protect the batsmen from a wicket that was still wet. Ring made an unexpected 67 and Morris scored 45 as Australia compiled 255, but it was not enough; the West Indies reached the target with six wickets in hand. After scores of 6 and 12 in the Fourth Test, he missed the final Test due to injury, ending an unproductive Test summer in which he managed only 186 runs at 23.25. The series
23136-400: The best figures in the decisive Fifth Test in Melbourne. In the 1937–38 season, O'Reilly returned to more regular state cricket, and New South Wales duly won the Sheffield Shield for the first time in five seasons. He took 33 wickets at an average of just over 14 runs each, and against South Australia at Adelaide he repeated his feat against Somerset in 1934, taking the last nine wickets of
23377-400: The best-liked cricketers of all time – charming, philosophical and relaxed". With his wife's death imminent, Morris organised the couple's return to Britain with financial help from Hassett. He worked as a cricket reporter for London 's Daily Express during the 1956 Ashes tour while his wife was reunited with her family for the last time. She died soon after they returned to Australia at
23618-432: The campaign to spend time with his newborn son after half a year in England; he played in only two matches, against South Australia and arch-rivals Victoria. He took a ten-wicket haul in the latter match, but his figures of 6/152 and 4/60 were not enough to prevent defeat. Both teams were at full strength and eight of O'Reilly's victims were Test players, including batsman Lindsay Hassett twice. O'Reilly's only other match
23859-428: The captaincy after a 7–6 vote by the board. He scored two centuries in six tour matches before the Tests. In his first Test in his new leadership role, Morris was out for a duck in Australia's only innings as the team won by an innings. He made starts in the next two Tests, passing twenty but failing to reach a half-century on all four occasions. In the second innings of the Third Test, Morris played fluently to reach 42 on
24100-474: The cathedral. That year, Commonwealth awards made up 40% of all OBEs and MBEs awarded (and 35% of all living recipients of the higher awards). Gradually that proportion reduced as independent states within the Commonwealth established their own systems of honours . The last Canadian recommendation for the Order of the British Empire was an MBE for gallantry gazetted in 1966, a year before the creation of
24341-418: The circlet. In 1929, to bring the order into line with the other orders of chivalry, members of the first class of the order (GBE) were provided with mantles, hats and collars. Only Knights/Dames Grand Cross wear these elaborate vestments; the hat is now rarely, if ever, worn. Use of the mantle is limited to important occasions (such as quadrennial services and coronations ). The mantle is always worn with
24582-444: The collar. Although the mantle was introduced in 1929, very few mantles would have been produced prior to the 1937 design changes, as there were few occasions for wearing them in the intervening years. On certain days designated by the sovereign, known as " collar days ", members attending formal events may wear the order's collar over their military uniform, formal day dress, evening wear or robes of office. Collars are returned upon
24823-429: The counter-attack, hitting three consecutive fours off Len Hutton 's bowling as Australia reached lunch at 1/121. Upon resumption, Morris severely attacked Denis Compton 's bowling. Morris struck seven fours in two overs of what Fingleton called "indescribably bad bowling". He reached the 90s just 14 minutes after the interval and hit another boundary to reach his century in just over two hours. Morris had added 37 runs in
25064-479: The country's population". The committee further suggested changing the name of the award to the Order of British Excellence, and changing the rank of Commander to Companion (as the former was said to have a "militaristic ring"), as well as advocating for the abolition of knighthoods and damehoods; the government, however, was not of the opinion that a case for change had been made, and the aforementioned suggestions and recommendations were not, therefore, pursued. In
25305-416: The crease too much instead of playing from the back foot . Morris scored 60 against Northamptonshire , before scoring 105 and 62 in the Second Test at Lord's to help Australia take a 2–0 series lead. Fingleton called the innings "a pretty Test century in the grandest of all cricket settings"; the knock was noted for powerful, well-placed cover drives . Morris featured in century partnerships with Bradman in
25546-403: The death of their owners, but other insignia may be retained. The six office-holders of the order wear pearl-grey mantles lined with rose-pink, having on the right side a purple shield charged with the roundel from the badge. Each of these office-holders wears a unique badge of office, suspended from a gold chain worn around the neck. The British Empire Medal is made of silver. On the obverse
25787-626: The distinction between ranks in military operational gallantry awards will cease'. The reforms affected the order at various levels: for example the automatic award each year of a GBE to the Lord Mayor of London ceased; the OBE replaced the Imperial Service Order as an award for civil servants and the number of MBEs awarded each year was significantly increased. As part of these reforms the British Empire Medal stopped being awarded by
26028-546: The end of 1939, Morris became a clerk in the Prosecutions Branch at Sydney Town Hall . He was chosen to make his debut, aged 18, for New South Wales against Queensland at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1940–41 season, a season in which there was no Sheffield Shield cricket due to the Second World War. He scored centuries in both innings , becoming the first player in the world to achieve
26269-498: The end of the tour, aged just 33. They had been married only 18 months. In the wake of his personal loss, Morris, known for his sincerity and high personal values, received many offers of work and financial assistance. With a reference from English cricketer Doug Insole , Morris joined British engineering company George Wimpey for a few years. He then moved back to Sydney to take up a public relations job with security group Wormald International where he worked until his retirement in
26510-527: The expense of the host's club. He worked on his bosie during the period and regularly dismissed outclassed opposition batsmen. O'Reilly regarded his cricketing isolation as highly beneficial as he regarded coaches to be ill-advised and detrimental to development. In late 1930, O'Reilly was posted to Kogarah Intermediate High School in the southern Sydney suburb of Kogarah , where he taught English, history, geography and business. O'Reilly resumed playing for North Sydney, confident that with an improved bosie, he
26751-450: The feat on debut. Morris made 148 in the first innings and participated in a second wicket partnership of 261 with Sid Barnes ; he added 111 in the second innings, completing his feat on 28 December. He gave chances that were dropped early in both innings, but impressed observers with his ability to remain settled. New South Wales went on to win by 404 runs. He was unable to maintain the standard of his debut in later performances, but finished
26992-418: The final match before the First Test. Five more centuries before the end of the season. Morris' Test form peaked in the series, heading the Test averages with 696 runs at 87.00, and he was the only player to compile three Test centuries. After scoring 31 and 9 in the First Test victory at Trent Bridge , he was criticised by former Australian Test opener Jack Fingleton , who believed Morris was shuffling across
27233-476: The first Test between the two countries in 1948. The uncertain nature of the tour saw the Australians wear blazers labelled ABC for Australian Board of Control , rather than the usual coat of arms. New Zealand were outclassed; after winning the toss and electing to bat on a rain-affected pitch, they made 42 in their first innings and 54 in their second to lose by an innings and 103 runs. O'Reilly took 5/14 in
27474-475: The first few weeks as he adapted to the alien batting conditions, reaching 50 only twice in his next nine innings with a total of 223 runs at 24.77; Morris sometimes attempted to drive balls pitched just short of a good length , and if they reared suddenly he was liable to be caught. Morris was worried about edging the ball to the slips cordon and had become fidgety and shuffled across the crease . He rectified this, and success followed with 184 against Sussex in
27715-413: The first innings and Barnes in the second innings, laying the foundation of a lead of 595 runs. After being rested against Surrey , the following match was against Gloucestershire at Bristol , where in only five hours, Morris scored his career best of 290. Having lost the opening two games of the series, England were contemplating changes to their team: Tom Goddard was tipped to replace Jim Laker as
27956-461: The first innings at a cost of 41 runs. This time, he followed up with five for 57 in the second innings. O'Reilly's second and final Ashes tour to England as a player in 1938 again saw him as the most effective bowler in the team. His final record of 22 wickets at an average of 27.72 in the four Tests—the Third Test was rained off without a ball being bowled—was marginally less than 1934, and in all matches he took 104 wickets at 16.59. In its report of
28197-405: The first innings, and 3/19 in the second, dominating with Toshack. It was his last Test and his last first-class game. O'Reilly dominated in the other tour games as well; he took match totals of 9/103 and 8/128 against Auckland and Otago respectively, and ended with 28 wickets at 10.60 for the tour. Having only decided to tour New Zealand after much consideration, O'Reilly retired at the end of
28438-401: The first match, he took 3/117 from 67 overs as England amassed 530 and took a ten-wicket victory. While his figures suggested that he bowled poorly—none of his wickets were those of batsmen—he beat the batsmen repeatedly. Between Tests, O'Reilly took 11 wickets in two Shield matches. In the Second Test in Melbourne, O'Reilly opened the bowling as Australia opted to use only one pace bowler on
28679-500: The first of these innings, Morris had been ill but he struck 253 of his team's 400, with the last 50 coming in only 17 minutes of batting. His Test form was unimpressive though; he started steadily, with 122 runs in the first two Tests, which were won by Australia. The Third Test in Adelaide was Morris's first Test as captain, after Hassett withdrew on match eve due to a strained hip muscle. Australia were already one batsman short after
28920-464: The first two Tests, O'Reilly appeared to have been given the job not just of bowling the opposition out, but also of containing them, and he was criticised in Wisden for defensive bowling. Wisden even went as far as to describe it as "leg theory". If the intention was to stifle England batsman Wally Hammond in particular, then it appears to have worked, but O'Reilly's figures for the series suggest he
29161-489: The first two drawn Tests, in which he struck three half-centuries, indicated that might be returning to his earlier form. He was unable to maintain his form however, and did not pass 40 in the last three Tests, ending the series with 337 runs at a modest average of 33.70. The teams were locked at 0–0 heading into the Fifth Test, and Hassett and Morris thought that the pitch at The Oval would favour fast bowling. However, they were mistaken, and Morris could manage only 16 and 26 as
29402-514: The flight of a Hedley Verity delivery and was bowled, thinking the ball to be fuller than it was and missing a lofted drive. Australia fell six runs short and were forced to bat again when the pitch was at its worst. They were bowled out again on the same afternoon as Verity took 14 wickets in a day. O'Reilly always regretted his dismissal, as he believed that if he had helped to avoid the follow on, he would have taken "six wickets without removing his waistcoat" and that Australia could have then chased
29643-474: The following year despite the removal of a breast, Morris retired at the age of 33, as he realised that his wife's condition was terminal and that their marriage would soon be over. Morris scored centuries on his first first-class appearances in four countries: England, South Africa, the West Indies and Australia, a record not equalled as of 1997. In general, he was known for scoring centuries in his debut appearance at many grounds. His eight centuries against England
29884-529: The former was to be responsible for recording all proceedings connected with the order, issuing warrants under the seal of the order and making arrangements for investitures, while the latter (at that time the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury ) was responsible for collecting and tabulating the names of those who were to receive an award. The office of Dean was added in 1957. The King of Arms
30125-412: The foundation for an innings victory and a 4–0 series result. He ended the series with 422 runs at 52.75. On either side of the final Test, Morris added centuries against Griqualand West and Western Province , and for the entire tour had amassed eight centuries, equal to Neil Harvey . At this stage of his career, he had amassed 1,830 runs in 19 Tests at an average of 67.77, with nine centuries. Following
30366-755: The fourteenth and fifteenth players to be inducted. In 2000, he was named in the Australian Cricket Board 's Team of the Century . Morris was named as an opening batsman in Bradman's selection of his greatest team in Test history. Bradman described him as the "best left-hand option to open an innings" and characterised his temperament as "ideal". Following the death of Sam Loxton in December 2011, Morris became Australia's oldest living Test cricketer, and after Norman Gordon 's death in 2014 he became
30607-454: The games against Leicestershire and Glamorgan , and in the match against Somerset , after Hans Ebeling took the first wicket, he took the remaining nine for 38 runs, and that proved to be the best innings figures of his career. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1935 for his deeds on tour. The tour ended with two non-first-class matches in Scotland against
30848-401: The governments of overseas dominions to make their own nominations; Canada and South Africa began doing so in 1942, followed by Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms. In May 1957, forty years after the foundation of the order, it was announced that St Paul's Cathedral was to serve as the church of the order, and in 1960 a chapel was dedicated for its use within the crypt of
31089-435: The hat-trick ball. The new batsman inside edged the ball past the stumps and through the legs of wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield , but the next delivery clean bowled him. This left England at 3/72, and O'Reilly removed Sutcliffe soon after, but the batsmen settled down and the next wicket did not come until Hendren fell just before the end of the first day's play. England were 5/355 and O'Reilly had taken each wicket. The next day,
31330-507: The head of physical education at STC, to help at Naremburn College instead of attending lectures. This angered Professor Alexander Mackie, the head of STC, whom both Cook-Russell and O'Reilly regarded as incompetent. O'Reilly's initial posting after abandoning his training was to a government school in Erskineville , an inner-city suburb in Sydney. At the time, the suburb was slum-like and impoverished, with many unruly students. Many of
31571-450: The highest class of the order (GBE). The designs of all these items underwent major changes in 1937. The badge is worn by all members of the order; the size, colour and design depends on the class of award. The badge for all classes is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end) with a medallion in the centre, the obverse of which bears a crowned image of George V and Queen Mary within
31812-407: The highest ever fourth innings score to result in a Test victory for the batting side. Australia had only 345 minutes to reach the target, and the local press wrote them off, predicting that they would be dismissed by lunchtime on a deteriorating wicket expected to favor the spin bowlers. Morris and Hassett started slowly, with only six runs in the first six overs . When Laker was introduced to exploit
32053-669: The honours system, calling it "a preposterous charade". The order has attracted some criticism for its naming having connection with the idea of the now-extinct British Empire . Benjamin Zephaniah , a British poet of Jamaican and Barbadian descent, publicly rejected appointment as an Officer in 2003 because, he asserted, it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality". He also said that "it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised". Bill O%27Reilly (cricketer) William Joseph O'Reilly OBE (20 December 1905 – 6 October 1992)
32294-476: The hosts , and O'Reilly top-scored in a match for Australia for the only time, in the first of the two games. Having been allowed to open the innings after complaining about his lack of opportunities, he top-scored with 47 ahead of McCabe's 16. He found the tour to be a happy and healing experience after the acrimony of the Bodyline series. O'Reilly played little state cricket for New South Wales in 1934–35; at
32535-518: The hosts ended on 9/627, despite a relentless 59 overs from O'Reilly, who ended with 7/189 and was the only bowler to challenge the batsmen. The high-scoring match never looked likely to produce a result, except when Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on. They were 55 runs away from the follow on mark of 478 at the end of the third day with two wickets in hand, and O'Reilly was on one. The next day Arthur Chipperfield fell with 24 runs still needed and O'Reilly and Wall saw them to 491 before
32776-419: The hosts for 321. The visitors then made 327 to set a target of 708 for victory. O'Reilly claimed 2/58, including Hammond, while Grimmett, with a total of eight wickets, proved the decisive bowler as Australia regained The Ashes with victory by 562 runs, which, more than 70 years on, is still the second largest margin of victory in terms of runs in any Test match. O'Reilly was the leading Australian bowler of
33017-417: The hosts' spinners cut down the tourists, while their Australian counterparts watched from the stands. Denis Compton pulled Morris' spin for four to seal an English win by eight wickets. This meant that the hosts regained the Ashes for the first time in two decades with a 1–0 triumph, and Morris thus tasted a series defeat for the first time in his career. It was a low-scoring series, and Morris placed third in
33258-557: The infield. Benaud rated Morris alongside Neil Harvey as having the best footwork against spin bowling among batsmen after the Second World War. Morris was particularly known for his fast analysis of the length of the ball, and as a result, he quickly and decisively moved forward or back. Morris' productivity declined in the latter half of his career, something he put down to the break-up of his opening pairing with Barnes. Morris' partnerships with his later partners yielded less runs, leading him to remark that "When Siddy [Barnes] went, I lost
33499-446: The insignia to Buckingham Palace and by ceasing to make reference to their honour, but they still hold the honour unless and until annulled by the monarch. In 2003, The Sunday Times published a list of the people who had rejected the Order of the British Empire, including David Bowie , John Cleese , Nigella Lawson , Elgar Howarth , L. S. Lowry , George Melly , and J. G. Ballard . In addition, Ballard voiced his opposition to
33740-640: The junior post-nominal letters. The British sovereign is the sovereign of the order and appoints all other officers of the order (by convention, on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms ). The second-most senior officer is the Grand Master (a 'Prince of the Blood Royal, or other exalted personage' appointed by the sovereign, who, by virtue of their appointment, becomes 'the First or Principal Knight Grand Cross of
33981-599: The late 1980s. He was appointed to the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust in 1965 and served there for 22 years, eight of them as deputy chairman. During this time, the ground was modernised and the Bradman Stand erected. In 1968, Morris met and married his second wife Judith Menmuir. He was awarded the MBE in 1974 for services to sport. In late 1989, Morris and his wife retired to the town of Cessnock in
34222-438: The latter fell. O'Reilly ended with 30 not out after an innings in which he was lucky not to be caught off an edge multiple times. A further draw at Headingley , with England saved by rain after a Bradman triple century , set up a match to decide the series at The Oval . As the series was still alive, the match was timeless, rather than the customary five-day contest. After Australia made 701, O'Reilly took 2/93 to help dismiss
34463-528: The latter. Knights and Dames Commander and Commanders may display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet. See List of current honorary knights and dames of the Order of the British Empire Only the monarch can annul an honour. The Honours Forfeiture Committee considers cases and makes recommendations for forfeiture. An individual can renounce their honour by returning
34704-463: The left breast, by Knights and Dames Grand Cross; Knights and Dames Commander wear a smaller star composed of 'four equal points and four lesser'. The star is not worn by the more junior classes. Prior to 1937 each star had in the centre a gold medallion with a figure of Britannia, surrounded by a crimson circlet inscribed with the motto of the order ('For God and the Empire'); since 1937 the effigies of King George V and Queen Mary have been shown within
34945-609: The match in the second innings, Morris put in another determined effort to ensure a draw. With the match secure, Morris played more aggressively towards the end in an unbeaten 99-run partnership with Bradman. Ahead of the final Test, Morris made 44 and 47 for New South Wales in a drawn match against Hammond's men. He made 57 in the Fifth Test in Sydney to end the series with an aggregate of 503 runs, at an average of 71.85, second only to Bradman. He ended his first full first-class season with 1234 runs at 68.55, partnering Sid Barnes at
35186-533: The match. O'Reilly retained his place when the selectors kept the winning side for the final match of the Test series at the MCG . On a pitch made treacherous by rain , he did not bowl at all when South Africa were bowled out for just 36 in the first innings, and came on only towards the end of the second innings, when he took three wickets as the touring side subsided to 45 all out. He ended his first Test series with seven wickets at 24.85. In Sheffield Shield cricket in
35427-588: The medal 'for gallantry', which had come to be known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , were given permission to use the postnominal letters EGM (and at the same time to add a laurel branch emblem to the ribbon of the medal); however, in 1940, awards of the EGM ceased and all holders of the medal were instructed to exchange it for a new and more prestigious gallantry award: the George Cross . In 1941,
35668-559: The medal of the order 'for meritorious service' was renamed the British Empire Medal , and the following year its recipients were granted the right to use the postnominal letters BEM. During the war, the BEM came to be used to recognise acts of bravery which did not merit the award of a George Cross or George Medal , a use which continued until the introduction of the Queen's Gallantry Medal in 1974. The designs of insignia of
35909-449: The medal. The colour of the riband was also changed: twenty years earlier, prior to the order's establishment, Queen Mary had made it known that pink would be her preferred colour for the riband of the proposed new order, but, in the event, purple was chosen. Following her appointment as Grand Master of the order in 1936 a change was duly made and since 9 March 1937 the riband of the order has been 'rose pink edged with pearl grey’ (with
36150-424: The milestone again. Morris was widely praised for his unselfishness and his sacrifice for his new teammate. He ended the series with 370 runs at 41.11 and took his maiden Test wicket in Adelaide, that of John Watkins . The series ended 2–2, the first Test series in Morris' career that Australia had not won. Morris ended the season with 105 in a warm-up match before the tour of England and totalled 913 runs at 45.65 for
36391-494: The military in 1941, but after presenting himself for the medical, was informed that his employer was deemed a "protected undertaking", so their workers were not allowed to enlist. First-class cricket resumed in Australia in 1945–46 after the end of the war, although the Shield competition was not held that season. O'Reilly captained New South Wales at the age of 40, and although the emergence of Ray Lindwall and Ernie Toshack in
36632-478: The morning of the match. Having taken six wickets, the match was then washed out, and O'Reilly then had his pay deducted, much to his chagrin. O'Reilly was selected for the New South Wales practice squad based on his performance in a single match for North Sydney against Gordon in 1927–28. In this game, he bowled Moyes—a state selector—with a medium paced leg break . At state training, O'Reilly's new teammate and Test leg spinner Arthur Mailey advised him to adopt
36873-473: The names of the former are written out in their fullest forms. Male clergy of the Church of England or the Church of Scotland do not use the title Sir (unless they were knighted before being ordained) as they do not receive the accolade (they are not dubbed "knight" with a sword), although they do append the post-nominal letters ; dames do not receive the accolade, and therefore female clergy are free to use
37114-411: The next Test. Facing omission from the side, Morris recovered in the Fourth Test at the Adelaide Oval , where Hassett shielded him from Bedser. This helped Morris to settle in before batting for a day and a half to score 206, his highest Test score and only double century at the highest level. It constituted the majority of Australia's total of 371, which set up 274-run victory and a 4–0 series lead, and
37355-454: The numbers restricted to the order as full members do. Although the Order of the British Empire has by far the highest number of members of the British orders of chivalry, with more than 100,000 living members worldwide, there are fewer appointments to knighthoods than in other orders. From time to time, individuals may be promoted to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of
37596-408: The opening Test at Brisbane. After English skipper Len Hutton won the toss and controversially sent Australia in, Morris made 153 to lay the foundation for a score of 8/601 declared and an innings victory. This included a partnership of 202 runs with Neil Harvey . The pair scored at a rate of nearly four runs per over, despite both players being repeatedly struck by the bowling of Frank Tyson , who
37837-620: The order alongside its own honours until the establishment of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996. Other Commonwealth realms have continued to use the Order of the British Empire alongside their own honours. In 1993 the Prime Minister, John Major , instituted a reform of the honours system with the aim 'that exceptional service or achievement will be more widely recognised; that greater importance will be given to voluntary service; that automatic honours will end; that
38078-408: The order and medal were altered in 1937, prior to the coronation of King George VI , 'in commemoration of the reign of King George V and Queen Mary, during which the Order was founded'. The figure of Britannia at the centre of the badge of the order was replaced with an image of the crowned heads of the late King and Queen Mary, and the words 'Instituted by King George V' were added to the reverse of
38319-409: The order was celebrated with a service at St Paul's Cathedral. The order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 officers and 1,464 members may be appointed per year. Foreign appointees, as honorary members, do not contribute to
38560-426: The order, to which serving personnel would in future be appointed. The classes were the same as for the Civil Division (as it was now termed), but military awards were distinguished by the addition of a central vertical red stripe to the purple riband of the civil awards. In 1920 appointment as an MBE 'for an act of gallantry' was granted for the first time, to Sydney Frank Blanck Esq, who had rescued an injured man from
38801-522: The previous twelve months to 2,991 runs at 69.56, with 13 centuries. He scored a century in each of his first three matches for the season, making 120 against Queensland, 108 in Bradman's Testimonial and 163 against Western Australia. After a match without triple figures, he added 177 against Victoria. In a low-scoring match against Queensland, New South Wales started the final day needing 142 to win. Morris scored 108 in only 80 balls, steering his team to victory before lunch. Previously, only Bradman had scored
39042-503: The pupils were barely clothed and tested O'Reilly's ability to discipline. He said that he learned more in three months there under Principal Jeremiah Walsh than he would have in ten years at STC. Major Cook-Russell then started a military cadet program in New South Wales schools; O'Reilly started such a program at Erskineville and his students won the statewide competition "in a canter". O'Reilly's time at Erskineville also marked
39283-410: The resumption of competition. He made 27 and 98 in his first match against Queensland , and was selected for an Australian XI match against Wally Hammond 's touring MCC team when first-choice opener Bill Brown was injured. In what was effectively a trial for the Test team, Morris scored 115 and featured in a 196-run partnership with Test captain Don Bradman , who scored 106. It was the beginnings of
39524-480: The retention of the Ashes, and O'Reilly ranked it as his finest performance, alongside his ten wickets in the Second Bodyline Test of 1932–33. Australia had retained the Ashes, but England struck back at The Oval, where they posted the then-record Test score of 7/903. Early on, O'Reilly trapped Edrich lbw for 12, to secure his 100th Test wicket against England. In a timeless match, Len Hutton made
39765-603: The same Order'). The position of Grand Master has been held by the following people: In addition to the sovereign and the grand master , the order has six further officers: At its foundation the order was served by three officers: the King of Arms, the Registrar & Secretary and the Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod. In 1922 the Prelate was added, and the office of Registrar was separated from that of Secretary:
40006-478: The season with 772 runs at 55.14. He scored four consecutive half-centuries for his state as they reclaimed the Sheffield Shield from Victoria. For the first two Tests, Morris was paired with the recovered Brown, before the latter was replaced by Barnes. Morris, the recently appointed co-captain of New South Wales, had greatly impressed Australia captain Don Bradman, to the extent that Bradman made Morris one of
40247-434: The second fixture. O'Reilly responded by bowling with a more attacking strategy, taking 5/22 and 2/112. At the end of the match, New South Wales' stand-in captain, the leg spinning all rounder Reginald Bettington , declared O'Reilly "the greatest bowler in the world", and although few agreed with this claim, Bettington made himself unavailable for selection so that O'Reilly would not be dropped. The reprieved leg spinner took
40488-466: The second innings as the match petered into a draw. In an otherwise high-scoring series, O'Reilly's greatest triumph was in the low-scoring Fourth Test at Headingley , where he exploited a difficult pitch to take five wickets in each innings as Australia secured the victory that enabled them to retain the Ashes. With the series level at 0–0, England captain Hammond elected to bat first; O'Reilly's 5/66
40729-411: The second innings of a six-wicket loss. The final Test in Sydney took a similar course; O'Reilly took 4/111 in the first innings including Sutcliffe and Jardine again, as the tourists took a 14-run lead before completing an eight-wicket win after another Australian collapse. O'Reilly was wicketless in the second innings and bowled 72 overs in total in the match. Reflecting on the performance of O'Reilly in
40970-518: The second of the matches, in Sydney, Hassett became the only person to score centuries in both innings of match involving O'Reilly. Despite Hassett's feat, New South Wales won the match; O'Reilly took a total of 8/157. O'Reilly continued his strong run in 1940–41, taking 55 wickets at 12.43 in eight matches. He took nine wickets in three consecutive matches, once for McCabe's XI in a match against Bradman's XI, which his team won by an innings, and in both matches against Victoria, which were split between
41211-523: The second tour to Australia by the West Indies . Morris experimented with his stance during the winter in response to criticism about his footwork when facing Bedser. Morris felt that his problems had arisen because he attempted to play excessively on the leg side . He opened his season by punishing the Queenslanders with a score of 253 in a Shield match and then scored 210 against Victoria. In
41452-493: The series, R Mason said "here we saw the first flexing of that most menacing genius". In the 1933–34 season, with no Test series in Australia, O'Reilly finished top of the Sheffield Shield bowling averages, taking 33 wickets at an average of 18.30, but he had an inconsistent run. He started the season with 6/58 and 7/53 in an innings win over Queensland. After managing only three wickets across two consecutive testimonial matches, O'Reilly went wicketless against South Australia. He
41693-432: The session. Morris was eventually dismissed for 182, having survived multiple chances and partnered Bradman in a partnership of 301 in 217 minutes. He struck 33 fours in 290 minutes of batting. Australia proceeded to accumulate the remaining 46 runs to secure the victory by seven wickets. Morris was the batsman at the other end of the pitch in the Fifth Test at The Oval when Bradman was famously bowled by Eric Hollies for
41934-471: The side just as well as Miller but in a less flamboyant manner". In spite of this, Morris started the new season consistently, scoring four fifties in his first five innings, including 55 and 39 in his state's victory over the touring South Africans ahead of the Tests. The on-field action against the South Africans brought no immediate upturn in Morris' Test fortunes. He made only one half-century and
42175-401: The spin, 13 runs were taken from his first over, but only 44 runs came in the first hour, leaving 360 runs needed in 285 minutes. Just 13 runs were added in the next 28 minutes before Hassett was dismissed. Bradman joined Morris with 347 runs needed in 257 minutes. Bradman signalled his intentions on his first ball by driving Laker against the spin for a boundary. Morris promptly joined Bradman in
42416-411: The squad travelled at around 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). With the retirement of Hassett following the 1953 England tour, the Australian captaincy was open for competition. No international cricket was scheduled until 1954–55, so there was a full domestic season in 1953–54 for players to stake their claims. Morris started strongly with consecutive centuries against Queensland and South Australia, but
42657-461: The standard of the George Medal (even though, as appointments to an order of chivalry, they were listed before it on the Order of Wear . In contrast to awards for meritorious service, which usually appear without a citation, there were often citations for gallantry awards, some detailed and graphic. From 14 January 1958, these awards were designated Commander, Officer or Member of the Order of
42898-498: The start of the next season, Morris was not made Australian captain despite being the incumbent vice-captain. Instead, he remained as deputy as Victoria's Ian Johnson was recalled to the team and assumed the captaincy. There was speculation that the two Queensland board members voted for Morris, the three New South Wales delegates voted for Miller, while the remainder voted Johnson. When England returned to Australia in 1954–55, Morris made his first Test century in almost four years during
43139-570: The start of work-sport conflicts that hampered his cricket career. He joined North Sydney Cricket Club in 1926–27 and was selected at short notice to play in an invitational match under retired Australian captain Monty Noble at the Sydney Cricket Ground . As the education department required a week's notice for leave requests, O'Reilly declined, but was then ordered by the Chief Inspector of Schools to play after turning up at school on
43380-565: The state schoolboys' team in both sports. Originally trained in spin bowling , Morris developed as a batsman during his teens and during the 1940–41 season became the first player in the world to score two centuries on his first-class debut. His career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which he served in the Australian Army and gained selection in its rugby union team. Upon the resumption of cricket in 1946, Morris made his Test debut against England and quickly made himself
43621-442: The state side indicated a shift in emphasis away from spin and towards faster bowling, O'Reilly maintained his pre-war standards. He took 33 wickets at 14.36 in six matches and New South Wales were undefeated; they won four matches and drew both fixtures against Victoria. He took at least two wickets in every innings and claimed his innings best of 6/43 against Queensland. O'Reilly also took a match total of 7/94 in an innings win over
43862-429: The subsequent tour of England, so he played in only two of the last three matches, with a reduced bowling load, taking eight wickets. During the season, Bradman moved to North Sydney from St George Cricket Club to captain the team, and it was the only summer in which O'Reilly played alongside Bradman at grade level. The following year, O'Reilly moved to St George, which was near Kogarah, as they were obliged to play for
44103-415: The summer. In 1953, Morris returned to England , the setting for his three Test centuries five years earlier, for another Ashes series. In a tour opening festival match against East Molesey, Morris made 103 in eighty minutes. After the modest run-scoring of the previous three Test seasons, Morris warmed up in 10 lead-in matches that yielded a moderate return of 347 runs at 34.70. However, his performances in
44344-464: The surprising move of appointing the young and inexperienced Richie Benaud as Morris' vice-captain for the match. Benaud, selected as a batsman, had scored just 195 runs at 13.92 in ten Test matches and was not a regular member of the team. Benaud noted that the situation was embarrassing and that Morris had asked him not to be offended if he sought advice from veteran players Ray Lindwall and Harvey, who had been Test regulars for seven years. Morris won
44585-411: The target in better conditions on the fourth day. O'Reilly shook English confidence in the Third Test, played on a placid surface at Old Trafford , by taking three wickets in four balls. Cyril Walters , who up to that point had been untroubled, failed to pick the bosie and thus inside edged the ball to short leg. Bob Wyatt came in and was clean bowled for a golden duck , bringing Hammond in to face
44826-578: The third oldest surviving Test cricketer. Morris died on 22 August 2015 at the age of 93. His former Australian teammate Neil Harvey , the last surviving Australian member of the "Invincibles" tour, paid tribute to him as "one of the best players this country has produced" and said that "you wouldn't find a nicer bloke in the world". Morris was seen as an elegant and aggressive player, and is regarded alongside Clem Hill , Neil Harvey and Allan Border as one of Australia's greatest left-handed batsmen. Adept at playing against both pace and spin bowling , he
45067-428: The three selectors for the 1948 tour of England. Morris was a key part of Bradman's inner circle in planning for the tour. Bradman had long harboured the ambition of touring England without losing a match. Morris marked his first-class debut on English soil with a fluent 138 against Worcestershire , which was scored in only four hours and made him the first Australian centurion on tour. Morris found batting difficult for
45308-542: The time, his first child was born and he took time off to ponder his future employment. He played in only one Shield match, against arch-rivals Victoria, and in the testimonial match for the retiring Woodfull and Ponsford. He took a total of eight wickets at 31.37 in these matches. O'Reilly played no Shield cricket the following season, when he was selected for the Australian tour to South Africa. Although Bradman had been vice-captain under Woodfull in 1934, he did not travel to South Africa on grounds of ill health, but played
45549-506: The title Dame . Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal GBE; Knights Commander, KBE; Dames Commander, DBE; Commanders, CBE; Officers, OBE; and Members, MBE. The post-nominal for the British Empire Medal is BEM. Members of all classes of the order are assigned positions in the order of precedence . Wives of male members of all classes also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander; relatives of Ladies of
45790-533: The title. The 1952–53 season started poorly for Morris. He was replaced by Keith Miller as state captain, despite having scored almost 700 runs at a fast rate in the previous Shield season at an average above 50, and leading his state to another title. As was the norm for the era, Morris was not informed personally and learned of his demotion second-hand. No official reason was given by the New South Wales Cricket Association , but it
46031-589: The titles Sir for men and Dame for women before their forenames, except with honorary awards. King George V founded the order to fill gaps in the British honours system : In particular, George V wished to create an order to honour the many thousands of individuals from across the Empire who had served in a variety of non-combat roles during the First World War . From its foundation the order consisted of five classes (GBE, KBE/DBE, CBE, OBE and MBE) and
46272-573: The top of the off stump. According to English team manager Plum Warner , Sutcliffe had never been defeated so comprehensively. O'Reilly also removed Hammond on the way to ending with 5/66 and securing a 111-run win. The ten-wicket haul was O'Reilly's first at Test level and the start of his strong career record over the English. However, Australia were not to taste further success. The controversial " fast leg theory " bowling used by England under newly appointed captain Douglas Jardine brought
46513-410: The top of the order at both state and international level. E. W. Swanton wrote "Morris set himself up as a No. 1 for Australia for a while to come ... Arthur at his best looked out of the top draw, a left-hander with all the strokes ... and what the figures do not say is that few more charming men have played for Australia , and I cannot name one who was more popular with his opponents". Morris started
46754-427: The toss and elected to bat on a green pitch, in a match marred by time-wasting. Although Australia took a first innings lead, they lost the low-scoring match by 38 runs after a batting collapse in the face of a Tyson pace barrage on the final day. Aided by a powerful tailwind, Tyson bowled at extreme pace and the slips cordon stood 45 m away from the wicket. Morris had a poor personal performance, scores of 12 and 10,
46995-459: The toughest team the tremors…A menacing bouncer colliding with Morris' bat was like a rocky fist against an iron jaw." While many batsmen tended to evade deliveries aimed at the head, Morris was known for standing and hooking. In one interstate match, Miller, one of the world's leading pacemen, bowled an entire eight-ball over of bouncers. Morris hooked the five balls that he faced in the over for 4, 4, 4, 4 and 3. According to Bradman, Morris' success
47236-415: The tour, Morris received an invitation from the New South Wales branch of the ruling Liberal Party asking him to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming state elections, an offer that he declined. England toured Australia for the 1950–51 Ashes series and Morris started the season strongly. He scored 74, 101 and 78 not out as New South Wales won consecutive matches against Queensland. Morris then warmed up
47477-400: The tour, however, Wisden 's 1939 edition noted that "it was nothing short of remarkable that despite the moderate support accorded to him he bowled so consistently well and so effectively." Again, O'Reilly was often used defensively where there was no help from the wicket, but, Wisden added, "when... the wicket gave him the least encouragement he robbed the greatest batsmen of initiative, and
47718-440: The tour, taking 28 Test wickets at an average of less than 25, while Grimmett took 25 wickets at just under 27 runs apiece. Australia's other Test bowlers took only 18 wickets between them. On the tour as a whole, O'Reilly headed the tourists' averages, with 109 wickets at 17.04, which meant that he also topped the averages for the whole English cricket season. In the matches against the English counties, he took 11 wickets in each of
47959-401: The tour, with three centuries . His efforts in the Fourth Test at Headingley helped Australia to reach a world record victory target of 404 on the final day. Morris was named in the Australian Cricket Board 's Team of the Century in 2000 and was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2001. In his youth, Morris excelled at rugby union as well as cricket, being selected for
48200-501: The touring team victories in the last three matches: Australia were handicapped not only by the tactics, but also by a lack of quality fast bowlers ; O'Reilly also opened the bowling in both the Third and Fourth Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane respectively due to the selection of only one paceman. He was hindered by a decline in the form of Grimmett, who was dropped after the Third Test. O'Reilly took 2/83 and 4/79 in Adelaide, collecting
48441-418: The twelve man squad. Instead, his place was taken by a specialist bowler already in the squad. This left Morris leading an extremely unbalanced team with four specialist batsmen and Miller as the all-rounder. Morris had a long tail with wicketkeeper Gil Langley and five specialist bowlers all with batting averages less than 23, and was reportedly "in a state of shock". Morris won the toss and elected to bat on
48682-594: The two states. First-class cricket was ended after one match in 1941–42; O'Reilly took a total of 9/124 in a loss to Queensland before the attack on Pearl Harbor signaled the start of World War II in the Pacific. In the meantime, O'Reilly continued to play for St George and topped the grade competition's bowling averages for years from 1941 to 1942 onwards. He averaged between 8 and 9 in all these seasons, and took more than 100 wickets in three consecutive summers, peaking with 147 in 1943–44. O'Reilly had tried to enlist in
48923-495: The visitors amassed 530, dismissing leading English batsman Wally Hammond in the first of many battles between the pair. The Tests started at the SCG and O'Reilly was the team's leading wicket-taker for the series with 27 wickets. O'Reilly not only took most wickets but he also bowled by some distance the most overs on either side, and he achieved a bowling economy of less than two runs from each of his 383 eight-ball overs . In
49164-603: The war-shortened season with 385 runs at a strong average of 55.14 in four matches. Morris' first-class cricket career was interrupted by the Second World War when domestic matches were cancelled at the end of the season. On 5 January 1943, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force , and served in the South West Pacific , mostly in New Guinea with the 8th Movement Control Group, part of
49405-488: The wicket of Sutcliffe for single figures in the first innings of a match overshadowed by near-riots after captain Bill Woodfull was struck in the heart. Australia were crushed by 338 runs, and lost the series in Brisbane. After O'Reilly had taken 4/101—including Sutcliffe and Jardine—in the first innings to keep Australia's first innings deficit to 16, the hosts collapsed to be 175 all out. O'Reilly took one wicket in
49646-467: The wicket-taking on domestic cricket, while his replacements struggled in the international arena. O'Reilly responded by becoming the leading Australian wicket-taker in the series taking 25, with Bill Voce taking 26 for England. However, he almost failed to take to the field; O'Reilly and several players had threatened to withdraw after vice-captain Stan McCabe 's wife was forbidden from sitting in
49887-422: Was I to know that I was about to cross swords with the greatest cricketer that ever set foot on a cricket field ? ... by the close of play, 17-year-old Don Bradman was 234 not out. The match resumed a week later, according to the local custom ... I bowled him first ball with a leg-break which came from the leg stump to hit the off bail. Suddenly cricket was the best game in the whole wide world. The wicket ended
50128-494: Was a school teacher and moved around the areas surrounding the Murray River to study and teach. O'Reilly's mother Mina (née Welsh) was of mixed Irish and English descent, of a third generation family from Adelaide . O'Reilly was born in the opal mining town of White Cliffs, New South Wales . Ernest had been appointed to open the first school in the town, and had helped to build the school and its furniture himself. Bill
50369-466: Was always a menace to tired bowlers." As well as his skill, O'Reilly was also known for his competitiveness, and he bowled with the aggression of a paceman . In a short biographical essay on O'Reilly for the Barclays World of Cricket book, contemporary England cricketer Ian Peebles wrote that "any scoring-stroke was greeted by a testy demand for the immediate return of the ball rather than
50610-479: Was an Australian cricketer , rated as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Following his retirement from playing, he became a well-respected cricket writer and broadcaster. O'Reilly was one of the best spin bowlers ever to play cricket. He delivered the ball from a two-fingered grip at close to medium pace with great accuracy, and could produce leg breaks , googlies , and top spinners , with no discernible change in his action. A tall man for
50851-416: Was angered by the subsequent comments in newspapers that he had already passed his zenith, and returned to form against Victoria at the MCG. After claiming 3/92 in the first innings, he took 9/50 in the second innings. The nine wickets included six Test players, including leading batsmen Woodfull and Bill Ponsford . Given his heavy workload in the previous season, it was decided to keep O'Reilly fresh for
51092-484: Was appointed the headmaster. O'Reilly said in his autobiography Tiger that the move played no vital part in his cricket education. The area had much more vegetation than the desolate White Cliffs, and an Irish Australian majority. O'Reilly later described the period as the happiest of his life. There the children played tennis on a court on their property and took up cricket. During this time, O'Reilly's mother gave birth to another son and two more daughters. In 1917, at
51333-532: Was consistent but not always penetrative. Morris Sievers , from fewer matches, outperformed his average; Leslie Fleetwood-Smith , a slow left-arm spinner, got more eye-catching individual figures, including 10 wickets in the victory at Adelaide. Whatever the methods, they were successful: having lost the first two Tests, Australia proceeded to win the final three to retain The Ashes they had regained in England in 1934, and O'Reilly's five for 51 and three for 58 were
51574-498: Was dropped, leaving O'Reilly as the hub of the Australian bowling attack for the MCC Ashes tour in 1936–37. O'Reilly was strongly aggrieved by the removal of his long-time bowling partner, and maintained that it was an "unpardonable" error that heavily weakened Australia's bowling attack. However, he remained vague about why he thought Grimmett had been removed, even though suspicion dogged Bradman. Grimmett continued to dominate
51815-401: Was due to his powerful wrists and forearms. Bradman interpreted Morris' unorthodox methods—he often defended with his bat not straight—as a sign of genius. Ian Johnson believed that Morris' idiosyncratic technique was a strength, as it disrupted any plans made by the opposition. Contrary to the accepted wisdom of the day, Morris had a penchant for lofting his drives, backing his ability to clear
52056-449: Was expected to be its leading batsman. He started well, scoring two centuries during Australia's first series in the post-Bradman era, a tour to South Africa that saw Australia win the Test series 4–0. By the end of the South African tour, Morris had amassed nine Test centuries and his batting average was over 65, but thereafter his form declined. Australia increasingly fell on hard times as the core of Bradman's team aged and retired. Morris
52297-402: Was first announced at the end of December 2006, and is available to recipients of all levels of the order, as well as to holders of the British Empire Medal . The pin design is not unique to any level. The pin features the badge of the order, enclosed in a circle of ribbon of its colours of pink and grey. Lapel pins must be purchased separately by a member of the order. The creation of such a pin
52538-585: Was for Bradman's XI against Rigg's XI in a match to commemorate the centenary of the Melbourne Cricket Club , in which he took a total of 7/129, to end the season with 19 wickets at 23.16. He resumed regular service for New South Wales in the next season, taking 55 wickets at 15.12 in seven matches. He took 8/23 and 6/22 to set up an innings win over Queensland and 6/77 and 4/62 in another victory over South Australia. The two matches against Victoria were shared as O'Reilly took 17 wickets. In
52779-416: Was his seventh Ashes century, ranking him second only to Bradman at the time for Ashes centuries. Bradman described the innings as "faultless – a terrific Test double hundred", comparing it to Morris's 182 and 196 at Headingley and The Oval during the 1948 Invincibles tour. Morris ended the series with a half-century in Melbourne in Australia's only loss, to give him a series aggregate of 321 runs at 35.66. It
53020-406: Was known for the variety of his shots on both sides of the wicket. Despite standing only five feet nine inches (1.75 m), opponents spoke of his imposing appearance and his apparent air of complete composure at the crease. He had the ability to decide on his stroke early in the ball's flight and employed an unusual defensive technique, shuffling across the stumps to get behind
53261-407: Was largely responsible for ending England's innings at 223. He removed Hammond, who had top-scored with 76, Bill Edrich and Denis Compton , all bowled in quick succession. England were 1/73 on the third day, an overall lead of 54, when O'Reilly began a new spell after Bradman had switched his ends. Joe Hardstaff junior hooked him for four and the next ball was no-balled by the umpire. O'Reilly
53502-469: Was made a substantive member and subsequently styled as Sir Terry Wogan). Although initially intended to recognise meritorious service, the order began to also be awarded for gallantry. There were an increased number of cases in the Second World War for service personnel and civilians including the merchant navy, police, emergency services and civil defence, mostly MBEs but with a small number of OBEs and CBEs. Such awards were for gallantry that did not reach
53743-460: Was most destructive". O'Reilly took 3/164 on a batting paradise in the First Test at Trent Bridge as England scored 8/658 and forced Australia to follow on and hold on for a draw. In the Second Test at Lord's O'Reilly took 4/93 in the first innings and trapped Eddie Paynter for 99 to end a 222-run partnership with Hammond. In reply to England's 494, Australia were in danger of being forced to follow on; O'Reilly came in and made 42, featuring in
53984-410: Was much more potent than before his rural teaching stint. As he only arrived back in Sydney in the second half of the 1930–31 season, O'Reilly was not considered for first-class selection, but he took 29 wickets at 14.72 for North Sydney. In the 1931–32 season he emerged as the successor to Mailey in the New South Wales side. Within half a dozen games, he was one of several young players introduced to
54225-417: Was noted for Morris' difficulties against the spin duo of Alf Valentine and Sonny Ramadhin , who bowled left-arm orthodox and leg spin respectively. The pair was responsible for five of his eight dismissals on the tour. Morris did not play a match after the new year and ended the season with 698 runs at 53.69. He topped his state's Shield batting averages, leading from the front as New South Wales regained
54466-425: Was only able to join after the secretary Dick Corish waived his membership fee. Jumping 47 feet, he came second in a triple jump competition behind Nick Winter , who went on to win gold in the event at the 1924 Summer Olympics with a world record of 50 ft. O'Reilly also placed second in a high jumping competition, clearing six feet. Corish was also a cricket administrator and invited O'Reilly to play in
54707-513: Was open to both women and men; provision was also made for conferring honorary awards on foreign recipients. At the same time, alongside the order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. The first investiture took place at Ibrox Stadium , as part of a royal visit to the Glasgow shipyards, with the appointment of Alexander Ure, 1st Baron Strathclyde as
54948-466: Was overlooked for the captaincy and then briefly dropped as his cricketing prowess waned. His career ended after his first wife became terminally ill. Later in his life, Morris served as a trustee of the Sydney Cricket Ground for over twenty years. In 2017, Morris was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame . The son of a schoolteacher who played for Waverley Cricket Club in Sydney as
55189-414: Was rarely used as a bowler and was a reliable catcher. Despite his success, he was a pessimist who claimed to be low on self-confidence, saying that he was always surprised not to be dismissed for a duck . In an interview in 2000, he said, "I wish I had the confidence of some of the players today." After reaching Test cricket, Morris began smoking to relieve tension ahead of an innings. Order of
55430-585: Was recommended in Sir Hayden Phillips ' review of the honours system in 2004. The Chapel of the Order of the British Empire is in St Paul's Cathedral . It occupies the far eastern end of the cathedral crypt and was dedicated in 1960. The only heraldic banners normally on display in the chapel are those of the Sovereign of the Order of the British Empire and of the Grand Master of the Order of
55671-436: Was regarded as the fastest bowler of his era. Those were the only centuries made by Australian batsmen for the entire series, and Morris was covered in bruises; he deliberately used his body to fend off short-pitched balls rather than risk a catch. In the Second Test in Sydney, Johnson and Miller were both unavailable due to injury; Morris led the team for the second and final time in Tests. The Australian Board of Control made
55912-426: Was reported to have become visibly enraged; he bowled Hardstaff next ball and then removed Hammond for a golden duck. This precipitated an English collapse to 123 all out, and O'Reilly ended with 5/56 and a total of 10/122. O'Reilly effort proved to be crucial as Australia scraped home by five wickets just 30 minutes before black clouds brought heavy rain, which would have made batting treacherous. The victory ensured
56153-477: Was second only to Bradman. He was a popular player, highly lauded by Australian and English commentators for both his character, goodwill and ability. His childhood mentor O'Reilly said that he was a "man worth knowing", while Tyson called him "one of cricket's patricians...endowed with a genteel equanimity, without seeming aloof or less than cordial and friendly". The English commentator John Arlott , known for rarely praising an Australian, said that Morris "was one of
56394-511: Was speculated among the media that his penchant for wearing brightly coloured rubber-soled shoes could have upset the conservative administrators, and that Morris was too genial to be captain. The media made Morris a scapegoat for dwindling public attendances following the retirement of Bradman and lobbied for Miller, who they deemed to be more appealing to the public. Morris had led his state to two Shield triumphs, but remained national vice-captain ahead of Miller. Richie Benaud said that Morris "led
56635-523: Was the 1954–55 tour of the West Indies . Prior to the tour, Miller replaced him as Australian vice-captain. He struck 157 against Jamaica in his first tour match, earning a recall to the Test team. He made 65 in the First Test victory in Kingston, Jamaica , before making his final Test century (111) in the drawn Second Test in Port of Spain , Trinidad . He made 44 and 38 in the Third Test win and then missed
56876-422: Was the first Test loss he had played in after 24 matches for Australia. In contrast to his below par Test series, Morris was in strong form during the first-class season; he scored three centuries against England in the tour matches and compiled six in all to finish with 1,221 runs at 58.14. Despite these performances, the press continued to emphasise his perceived difficulties against Bedser. The 1951–52 season saw
57117-451: Was the fourth child in the family, with two elder brothers and a sister. O'Reilly's cricket skills were largely self-taught; his family moved from town to town whenever his father was posted to a different school, he had little opportunity to attend coaching. He learned to play with his brothers, playing with a " gum-wood bat and a piece of banksia root chiselled down to make a ball." He learned to bowl because his older brothers dominated
57358-447: Was the only Australian to take more than a solitary wicket, and rated Hutton's knock as the finest innings played against him. Australia collapsed to lose by an innings and 579 runs, the heaviest defeat in Test history. O'Reilly's lack of success went with The Oval Test in 1934, when he took a total of 4/151. O'Reilly scaled back his participation in Sheffield Shield cricket in the 1938–39 season, making himself unavailable for most of
57599-479: Was the start of a long on-field relationship between the pair, who were to regard one another as the best in the world in their fields. O'Reilly recalled that Bradman "knew what the game was all about". O'Reilly did not enjoy his time at the overcrowded Sydney Teachers College (STC), decrying the lack of practical training and the predominance of pedagogical theory. Regarding it as a waste of time, he happily accepted an offer of work experience from Major Cook-Russell,
57840-499: Was transferred by the New South Wales Education Department to Griffith, New South Wales , an outback town in the south-west of the state, and he was unable to play first-class cricket. Over the next three years he moved around the country, including postings to Rylstone and Kandos . Teaching duties may have cost O'Reilly an early entry into Test cricket , as many young players were introduced in
58081-417: Was unable to maintain his form, passing fifty only twice in his remaining eight innings. He ended with 487 runs at 54.11 as New South Wales won the Sheffield Shield under Miller's leadership. Nevertheless, the Australian selectors indicated that they were considering Morris as a captaincy option by making him captain of Morris' XI, which played Hassett's XI in a testimonial match. Morris' XI won by 121 runs. At
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