The 134th Annual general meeting of the Otago Cricket Association Inc. was held last evening at University Oval, Dunedin.
In moving the adoption of the Annual Report, Chairman Murray Hughes made mention of the $119,217 operating surplus being a highlight of year, as for so long Otago Cricket had struggled to keep its head above water.
He, and CEO Ross Dykes, also identified 3 special moments at quite different levels of the game – the very successful South Island Primary School Tournament hosted so ably by Otago Country Cricket, the fairy-tale winning of the Hawke Cup by North Otago Cricket and the trail-blazing participation of the Otago Volts in the IPL Champions League.
The meeting reaffirmed the positions of Iain Gallaway and John Petre as Patron and President respectively and unanimously endorsed the nomination of George Morris to Life Membership of the Association.
Morris’s involvement in Cricket started with umpiring, as one of the youngest ever to umpire senior club cricket in Dunedin at the age of 16 it was no surprise he umpired his first First Class game in 1977/78 – Otago v NZ Under 23 XI at Logan Park at the age of 20. From that beginning not only did he continue to umpire Club cricket in Dunedin for over 15 years but he also umpired 28 First Class matches, including 4 Tests, as well as standing in 9 ODI’s the last in 1987/88.
A School teacher, George has demonstrated a willingness to work with younger people so it was no great surprise that he put his skills of organisation and management to work by becoming involved with the management of the Otago Under-age representative teams.
Since the 1992/1993 season, that is for over 18 years, there have been few years when George has not managed an age-group representative team and for a number of years he was also the convenor of the selection panel for the Otago Under 18 team. In most of that time he managed two teams and in more recent times these included both the Otago Under 19 Tournament team and the Otago A team.
There can be no greater testament to his skills and ability in this area than his continued appointment to manage what are important Otago teams and also the recognition of those skills by New Zealand Cricket with his appointment as Manager of NZ A two seasons ago. His contribution to the development of our home-grown talent over that period has been immense and few could match that commitment. Most recently the skills of George as a manger were demonstrated by the outstanding job he did as manager of the Otago Volts during their trip to the Champions League in India.
Morris has managed national Age Group Tournaments in Dunedin, he managed the Youth World Cup pool which was based in Dunedin in 2001/2002, he has managed South Island Age Group Tournaments when in Dunedin, and for the last six years has been the Chairman of the Dunedin Cricket Association. In 2007 he was elected President of Otago Cricket and served for two years – a position he filled with distinction and commitment.
While his standing as an Umpire may have come to an end his commitment to the local Umpiring scene did not stop and over the years he has served as administrator, secretary, training officer and report co-ordinator – not just for one year but for many. He has served on the NZ Umpires and Scorers Association, and the Umpires Association which preceded it, and in 2008 was elected President of that body.
George’s contribution to cricket in Otago in many areas has been immense and I would suggest matched by few in the history of the game in the province or indeed New Zealand. We are privileged to have someone of his commitment and passion working in areas of the game which are not always the most glamorous or newsworthy but without which not much would happen – at least to the level we hope for. No one deserves recognition by Otago Cricket more and It is with great pleasure George is added to the list of Life Members of Otago Cricket.
