Morice Carlos Bird (25 March 1888, in

St Michael's Hamlet St Michael's Hamlet, also known as St Michael-in-the-Hamlet or simply St Michael's, is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. It is located to the south of the city, bordered by Dingle, Aigburth and Mossley ...

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– 9 December 1933, in

Broadstone, Dorset Broadstone is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. It is located from Hamworthy railway station and from Bournemouth International Airport. The ward had a population of 10,303 at the 2011 Census, increasing from 10,256 at the 2001 Census. ...

) was an English

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

er who played in 10

Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

from 1910 to 1914, all of them in South Africa. Bird's fame as a cricketer in the years before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

rested more on his deeds as a schoolboy than on his prowess as a county or Test player. In 1907, as captain of the

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

team, he scored two centuries in the annual match at Lord's against

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

that was one of the social highlights of the year. He played a few games for

that season, then disappeared for two years, reappearing in 1909 with Surrey. On a fairly flimsy record, he was taken by H. D. G. Leveson Gower on the 1909–10 English tour of South Africa, where he played in all five Tests. He took three wickets for 11 runs in his first Test against

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and in the third Test he put on 95 for the seventh wicket with

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mas ...

, a stand that enabled England to win the match by three wickets. In the fourth match at

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he scored 57 in the first innings. Back in England, Bird played regularly for Surrey in 1910 and took over as the county's captain from Leveson-Gower for two years from 1911. A forceful right-handed batsman, he scored 1,000 runs in three seasons and also took useful wickets with medium-pace bowling. But he appears never to have been in serious contention for a Test place until selected again for a South African tour in 1913–14, under

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to ...

. He made his highest Test score, 61, in the first Test at

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, putting on 115 for the seventh wicket with Douglas, but achieved little else in the series until he took the first three wickets in South Africa's second innings in the final match, played at

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...

. Bird played only a few first-class matches after the First World War, and coached at his old school and later at Surrey. He was ill for several years before his death at the age of 45.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Morice 1888 births 1933 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 Lancashire cricketers Surrey cricketers Surrey cricket captains Cricketers from Liverpool Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers People educated at Harrow School Gentlemen of England cricketers H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club South African Touring Team cricketers