A quickly scampered two has never been more keenly celebrated than when Matt Morris completed that particular double this week.
The Staffordshire batsman punched a delivery from Lincolnshire spinner Jordan Cook to the point boundary to bring up a landmark which has been a fair few years in the making.
By completing his second run, the left-handed opener moved from 98 to 100… and in the process notched his second NCCA Championship century for Staffordshire.
There was an outpouring of emotion from the Burslem batsman at Checkley’s Four Trees ground as he wildly celebrated reaching his ton as Staffordshire closed in on victory in their opening Division One East game of the season.
And it was little wonder. As he soaked up the applause from the crowd, which included dad David, mum Lynne and the seemingly less-than-bothered family dog Louis, Morris had ended his long wait to once again hit three figures.
Morris’ one and only ton before that had been way back in 2019 when he compiled 111 against Norfolk at Longton.
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So not only was this 113 not out a Staffordshire career best, it also released plenty of pressure he had put on himself.
Morris, who moved to Westhoughton to play his club cricket in the NSSCL with Burslem this season, was keen to praise one particular person following his achievement.
‘For you, coach’
Staffs head coach Andy Carr, who is continuing cancer treatment, was among those on the sidelines applauding Morris’ match-winning knock.
“It meant so much to me. I’d like to dedicate the hundred to Andy. He rose to his feet when I got there and that was for him,” said Morris. “People don’t always realise that he was there in the days I was in the development team back in 2019 and I played with him in a game at Rolleston as well.
“We’ve always been close and have had chats about game plans and where I’m at with my mental state.
“It was a build up of emotions from everything I have been through. I had to wait six years since the last hundred.
“All the hard work, chats and training, it was a massive build up of emotion, the celebration was a release of that. It meant so much to all of the family.”
Morris admits he it was high time to bring an end to that run without a century.
He has played some important innings in between, notably this season when his unbeaten 50 helped Staffs to victory over Cheshire in the Twenty20s.
And he says some ‘tough love’ along the way also helped him to tune in to what is now expected of him as one of the more senior players in the side.
‘Tough talk’
Morris says stand-in captain Michael Hill was one person who told him exactly how the land lies.
“It has been bugging me (the wait for another century). I probably did put a bit of pressure on myself, so it was just nice to get there again,” added Morris.
“I got 50 in the one-dayers against Suffolk earlier this season and me, Ketts (James Kettleborough, captain), Milly (Chris Millward) and Pete (Wilshaw) had a chat after. One of the things they said was that it’s time to not just score runs to contribute to wins, but it’s time to actually win games.
“I took that to heart. It was nice to be thought of in that light.
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“At Cheshire I played the role of seeing us home and on Tuesday I thought no-one else is getting in here, it’s about me and Hilly winning the game.
“I’ve been consistent in all of the formats that I’ve played. I average in the 30s in three-dayers and have done my role in the white-ball stuff, but to be able to kick on is nice.
“At the age of 26, people will say I’m coming towards my peak and I’m one of the most experienced players in the team, so I need to take ownership and responsibility.
“Hilly is one of my tough love characters. He said ‘we need a big season out of you this year’. I always think about the gold rope (on the cap) when you get capped and he said ‘better start winning games for us, then’.
“That’s a fair point! We have that sort of friendship. It was good to have him out there.”
‘Magic moment’
Staffordshire were set 292 to win by Lincolnshire, but the match was in the balance when Staffs found themselves 138-3 just before lunch on day three.
But Morris and Hill compiled an unbroken stand of 157 to steer Staffordshire to a seven-wicket victory to start off their Division One East title defence in fine style.
“It came together and it was rewarding for me and everyone. Me and my dad had a chat about the plan to the spinner, then Milly, Pete and Ketts had a word about other areas,” said Morris.
“After that we had a plan and it was about not deviating from that, which made it special.
“I’m not going to lie, I was nervous in the 90s. I was actually quite conscious of Hilly overtaking me because he was coming up like a train!
“But they brought the seamers back on and leaked a few boundaries.
“I’ve worked hard on my fitness – I batted for five hours and if I hadn’t put the work in I’m not sure I’d have made that second run.
“Hilly took one to get me back on strike and then said ‘over to you’. I could see out of the corner of my eye he was just willing me on to get back for the second run.
“It was a great feeling and the crowd’s reaction as well, it was quite remarkable. People know how much it means to me to play for Staffs as an outside. But I feel like I’ve been adopted by the county now.”
‘Recovery mission’
Staffordshire’s victory was an impressive turnaround after they had been second best on Sunday’s opening day.
After Sam Atkinson’s maiden five-for had skittled Lincolnshire for 246, Staffordshire walked in on 159-8 at the close.
However, Hill’s 93 not out limited the deficit to just 28 runs on the second morning.
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And Staffs’ bowlers, fronted by a hostile spell from seamer Jacob Garlick and Tom Brett’s five wickets, dismissed Lincs for 263 second time around.
Staffordshire had 20 overs to face on that second evening and saw Morris and Tom Moulton guide them 83-0.
Moulton progressed to 50 the following day before falling, while Amir Khan and Reeve Evitts’ dismissals gave Lincs a sniff.
‘Never beaten’
However, Morris and Hill closed the doors on those hopes as they eased the hosts over the line.
“Our performance shows the resilience of the squad and the coaching staff. We were in a tough position, but we bounced back and it shows what we are capable of as a side,” added Morris.
“It sets a bit of precedent as a group and other teams will be thinking that we are a serious side and can recover from difficult positions.
“Sam and Garlo brought blood and guts with their performances and it showed how much it means to them to play for Staffordshire.
“Sam is very proud after picking up that first five-wicket haul. With Garlo, he just kept running in and kept putting the pressure back on Lincolnshire. It showed the fight we have as a group – and what a couple of players to have in our armoury.
“Tommy (Moulton) is steady and it’s good to bat with him. He’s proactive and runs really well between the wickets.
“We have good chats in the middle about what the pitch is doing and the bowled. But as an entire unit for the three days we stuck together.
“In the past we’ve been slow burners in the three-dayers, but we’ve come out of the blocks quickly this time.”
‘Time to build’
Morris insists the belief in the group meant that they weren’t fazed by being set such a big total to win.
He’s now intent on following that up against Suffolk at Copdock in the next three-day assignment a weekend on Sunday.
First of all, though, Staffs are back in T20 Cup action with Super 12s games against Norfolk and Herefordshire at Moddershall & Oulton tomorrow.
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“We would have felt comfortable chasing 350. There were still 20-odd overs to go,” said Morris. “But still, chasing 290 in a three-dayer is impressive. We did the same at Stafford last year (308 v Suffolk) so to knock off two big scores in back-to-back seasons tells us plenty about the group.
“Now we have to go to Suffolk and perform. We’ve put in the hard work at Checkley and can’t let it go to waste. We can’t just expect another win, though, we’ve got to put in the hard work.
“The T20s are huge for us. We’ve got to get back to finals day again. Last year was rained off so we’re still the champions.
“Hopefully we are coming with a charge and we have to take another step on Sunday and get back to finals day.”
Main image: Matt Morris ended his six-year wait for another Staffordshire century in the victory over Lincolnshire. Picture: Roger Byrne