Sievers Morris Image 1 Victoria 1936

Description

Powlett River, Victoria born all-rounder Morris Sievers was a useful right-handed lower order batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler who played for Victoria in the seasons leading up to the Second World War. He began his career in 1930 for the Colts, at 17 years of age, and having made his State debut in 1933-34 he made several useful half centuries, albeit his bowling was inclined to be expensive.

Sievers toured South Africa in 1935–36 with the Australian cricket team under Vic Richardson but, with the Australian bowling dominated by the spin of Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly, he was not called on for any of the Tests and took only seven first class wickets on the tour.

Sievers’ Test match experience came in the first three matches of the M.C.C. tour under Gubby Allen’s captaincy in 1936-37. He made his Test match debut at Brisbane in December 1936. Curiously fragile batting by the Australians gave England commanding victories in both the first two matches, at Brisbane and at Sydney, and Sievers distinguished himself with neither ball nor bat.

The third Test at Melbourne, however, saw a complete reversal of fortune, largely through the intervention of the weather. After Australia had struggled on the first day on a lifeless pitch, rain set in, so that when Donald Bradman declared at 200-9 and sent England in to bat, the pitch was of uncertain bounce, if any, and Sievers profited. When England declared having made just 76-9, Sievers had taken 5-21, the best figures of the innings. Bradman then juggled his batting order to send expendable tail-enders in first and hit 270 himself on a by-now benevolent pitch. Australia won the match by 365 runs and went on to win the other two matches of the series to retain The Ashes. Sievers, however, was dropped from the English tour after his Melbourne effort and despite finishing at the top of the Australian bowling averages for the series with 9 wickets at 13.40 apiece, he never played Test cricket again.

Sievers continued playing cricket until 1946, ending his career with 2,075 runs in 58 first class matches at an average of  29.64, with a highest score of 76 among 14 half centuries. With his bowling he took 116 wickets at 33.36 apiece, with a best return of 6-43, and 4 five wicket hauls in those games. He also took 56 catches in first class play.

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