Birthday special: Danny Morrison – A lethal pace bowler; an entertaining commentator

Danny Morrison, born on February 3, 1966, is one of the most loved commentators in the world. His voice is quite popular among cricket fans across the globe. His style of commentary or presentation is very unique and has caught on with various other commentators over the years. However, not a lot of people know that before becoming a jolly commentator, Morrison was a fine fast-bowler for the New Zealand cricket team.

Danny Morrison made his international debut during the 1987 World Cup in India and Pakistan. Interestingly, he debuted in the match in which Sunil Gavaskar, his future co-commentator scored his only ODI century. Even though his debut didn’t go according to the plan, Morrison soon became a regular for the Blackcaps team. His accuracy as a new ball bowler was praised a lot around the cricket circles. He was known for his outswingers, which could trouble batsmen in helpful conditions.

Career highlights

His most notable achievement came when he took a hat-trick in an ODI against India in 1994. He had become quite a popular pacer during this time. He went on to play for New Zealand until 1997. In the 48 Tests which he played, he took 180 wickets at an average of 34.68 and a strike rate of 62.9. In ODIs, he picked up 126 wickets in 96 matches, with a bowling average of 27.53 and a strike rate of 36.3.

In 1997, he was dropped from the New Zealand team and never came back to play for the Blackcaps again. This, unfortunately, happened right after he batted in a 10th wicket partnership with Nathan Astle to save a Test match against England. Interestingly, at one time, he held the record for most ducks in Test cricket at one time with 24 of them against his name.

#ONTHISDAY 11-11-1996
Srilanka & New Zealand Played a 1st ever tie Game Played @ Sharjah Stadium & 10th overall.
New Zealand set a target of 169. Danny Morrison’s brilliant spell of 5 / 34. . Series remember for low scores
Happy memories for @SteelyDan66 on that day. @BLACKCAPS pic.twitter.com/jZhz8djEWW

— Zohaib (Cricket King) (@Zohaib1981) November 11, 2020

During his time, he featured in three Cricket World Cups, in 1987,1992 and 1996. Soon after his retirement from the sport, Morrison entered into broadcasting. Once a fierce fast-bowler had turned into everyone’s favourite commentator for his funny antics. His style of speaking on-air is something which everyone started enjoying. His style was also engaging more fans.

With television commentary exploring different ways to engage fans, Morrison’s style hit home entirely and he started regularly appearing in tournaments across the world. His stints in the IPL are also quite famous as he would have shows in which he would present in his own style. As Danny Morrison turns 55, we wish him a happy birthday and hope that we can witness his over-the-top antics inside the commentators for some more years.