15 Facts about Chris Morris – The Modern day South African Allrounder

South African allrounder Chris Morris is making an impression of his own in world cricket. With his all-round performances with the bat and ball, Morris has already made a lot of fans. He is a bowling allrounder, who often sends the speed gun beyond 140kph and bats fearlessly in the lower-order. Though some were surprised to see the huge price he bagged during the IPL 2016 auctions, the cricket pundits knew what this man is capable of. He recently lit up the IPL with a breathtaking knock that almost seized the game for his side. Here are some interesting facts about Chris Morris.

1. Early Life:

Christopher Henry Morris was born in Pretoria, South Africa on 30 April 1987.

2. Cricket in his blood:

His father, Willie Francis Morris, was also a cricketer. His father played for Northern Transvaal and played 74 first-class matches. Incidentally, his father too was an all-rounder. It was his father who introduced him to the game.

3. Success in domestic career:

Morris made his first-class debut in 2009 at the age of 29. However, he didn’t taste success early in his domestic career. His claim to fame came in 2011-12 where he finished as the leading wicket-taker in the domestic T20 competition, with 21 scalps at 12.66 and was picked to play a T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe.

4. Impressive show in the Champions League 2012:

Playing for the Highveld Lions in the Champions League 2012, Chris Morris was exceptional with the ball. He bowled in tandem with Sohail Tanvir and Dirk Nannes. The Lions lost in the finals but Chris Morris drew the attention of the IPL teams.

5. The big IPL break:

He was one of the top buys of the 2013 IPL auctions. He went to Chennai Super Kings for more than 31 times his base price of US$20,000 ($625,000 in 2013 – around Rs. 4.2 crore). He was later signed up by the Rajasthan Royals in the next auctions. In the 2016 IPL auctions, Morris was bought by Delhi Daredevils for Rs. 7 crore — Rs 2.5 crore lesser than the topper Shane Watson — but on par with Yuvraj Singh to emerge the second most expensive among overseas players.

6. Not only a T20 specialist:

While some tagged him as a T20 specialist, Morris believed he could excel in the other formats too. Playing in the 2010-11 first-class season, he averaged over 60 with the bat. He also led the Lions’ charge in the 2012-13 Sunfoil Series and finished with 32 wickets at 16.00 and three years later was rewarded with a Test call-up.

7. International debut:

He made his T20 debut against New Zealand at Durban in 2012. He picked up 2/19 on his debut and dismissed Colin Munro and Corey Anderson. His ODI debut came in 2013 against Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. He had to wait till 2016 to make his Test debut against England.

8. Memorable Test debut:

Morris debuted at the New Year’s Test against England. He made more of an impression as a batsman with 69 in his first match and he took that form into limited-overs’ cricket as well.

9. Single-handedly winning the match for his side:

Chris Morris singlehandedly won the 4th ODI against the touring England in 2016. Chasing 263 for the win, Morris came in to bat with South Africa struggling at 191/6 in the 38th over. Two more wickets fell and South Africa were 210/8. It was a miraculous knock of 62 off 38 balls that blew away the visitors as South Africa won by a wicket.

10. Doing the same in the T20s:

He wasn’t done then. Morris continued his good form and won a last over thriller against England in the first T20. Needing 14 to win off the last over, he took his side over the line with 3 wickets to spare.

11. Almost did the same for Delhi Daredevils:

With Delhi chasing 172 to win in their game against Gujarat Lions, Morris walked in with the scorecard reading 57/4 in 10.4 overs. What followed then was a Morris blitz as the allrounder scored a sizzling 82* off just 32 balls with 8 sixes. He was unlucky as he couldn’t finish the game for his side and Delhi lost by a run.

12. A genuine allrounder:

Morris can bat and bowl equally well. He has 150 wickets to his name in 47 first-class matches to go with over 1900 runs with 3 centuries and 10 half centuries. He has a top score of 154 in first-class matches.

13. Hat-trick in first-class cricket:

Playing for the Highveld Lions in the Sunfoil Series against the Warriors, Chris Morris picked up 4 wickets in space of 6 balls, including a hat-trick.

14. Personal Life:

Morris married his long-time girlfriend Lisa Oosthuizen in August last year. He used the money he earned playing in the Indian Premier League to pay off his parents’ mortgage. Then he built a house for himself and his then fiancé, Lisa Oosthuizen.

15. Major teams:

Chris Morris has represented various teams in his career so far. The teams that he has played for are: South Africa, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Lions, North West, Rajasthan Royals, Titans.