How a Canberra Scorer Became an Unmatched Cricket Database
Meet Adam Morehouse, a man breaking records and tracking icons in the world of cricket. As a scorer from Canberra, he has transformed his passion into a monumental statistical resource that spans the globe.
From Scorer to Statistician
Adam Morehouse has scored more top-grade matches in the ACT than anyone else, but his contribution to cricket extends far beyond the scorer's table. "I'm more a statistician than a scorer," Morehouse explained, reflecting on his decades-long involvement in the sport. "I've always done stats, and I think I came into it at the right time, during the computer age instead of having to manually do it. It's something I love doing."
His journey began with statistics, which naturally led him into scoring. "I fell into scoring through doing the stats. I did some scoring because I got sick of looking at some of the scoresheets, and thought I could do a better job." Earlier this year, Morehouse scored his 241st first-grade match, setting a new Cricket ACT record. He spent most of his time with Weston Creek-Molonglo before joining Ginninderra in 2018.
Dedication and Recognition
Morehouse's meticulous work has not gone unnoticed. His dedication once caught the eye of a future Test superstar, Nathan Lyon, who was then a groundsman at Manuka Oval and captaining Wests on weekends. "There was just something about him," Morehouse recalled. "We played Wests in a final, we beat them but he came out to bat with a broken webbing in his hand, and made 80-odd. And he was captaining them at like 21, there was always that X-factor about him. He was always going to go on to something bigger, and he just had the cards fall for him at the right time."
He added, "Australia went through a heap of spinners after [Shane] Warne, and then he got the opportunity in Sri Lanka, got a wicket in his first over, and then just pretty much kept the spot since then. The only thing that's going to stop him is his body at this stage, he could play until he's 40 if his body holds out."
A Behemoth Statistical Database
Morehouse has built a gargantuan database containing over 450,000 cricket matches and counting. This comprehensive resource includes:
- Every men's and women's international match ever played, covering Tests, one-day internationals, and Twenty20s.
- All first-class matches and scorecards from various Twenty20 leagues worldwide.
- Grade competitions across Australia, allowing instant access to statistics on players like Nathan Lyon, from his first-grade days in Canberra to his illustrious international career.
"Even if someone has played club cricket in England, I'm starting to drag some of that stuff into the database as well," Morehouse said. "I can follow someone's career from fifth grade all the way through to internationals or first-class cricket."
Focus on Premier Cricket
One of Morehouse's key aims is to highlight Premier Cricket. "Not a lot of attention's been paid enough to Premier Cricket and it's the best nursery for first-class cricket," he noted. "So I've got all of NSW Premier first grade, ACT Premier first grade, Victoria Premier first grade, I'm just trying to gradually get the rest in."
At 49 years old and a father of four, Morehouse continues to score matches each weekend. Despite having nearly 250 first-grade games under his belt, plus four Test matches and 17 one-day internationals, there's still one milestone he hasn't achieved. "I don't think I've even scored a hat trick, after this many years," he admitted. "That's one of the things I've still got to tick off. I missed a T20 game that Ginninderra played this season, and one of our guys got a hat trick."
Through his relentless work, Adam Morehouse has created an invaluable tool for cricket enthusiasts, preserving the history and details of the sport in an unprecedented way.
