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Full name Richard John Hadlee
Born July 3, 1951, St Albans, Christchurch, Canterbury
Current age 57 years 35 days
Major teams New Zealand,Canterbury,Nottinghamshire,Tasmania
Nickname Paddles
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Other Commentator
Height
6 ft 1 in
Education Christchurch Boys' High School
Relations Father - WA Hadlee,Ex-wife - K Hadlee,Brother - BG Hadlee,Brother - DR Hadlee
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
6s
Ct
St
Tests
86
134
19
3124
151*
27.16
2
15
33
39
0
ODIs
115
98
17
1751
79
21.61
2319
75.50
0
4
27
0
First-class
342
473
93
12052
210*
31.71
14
59
198
0
List A
318
271
56
5241
100*
24.37
1
16
100
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
Tests
86
150
21918
9611
431
9/52
15/123
22.29
2.63
50.8
25
36
9
ODIs
115
112
6182
3407
158
5/25
5/25
21.56
3.30
39.1
1
5
0
First-class
342
67518
26998
1490
9/52
18.11
2.39
45.3
102
18
List A
318
16188
8553
454
6/12
6/12
18.83
3.17
35.6
9
8
0
Career statistics
Test debut
New Zealand v Pakistan at Wellington, Feb 2-5, 1973 scorecard
Last Test
England v New Zealand at Birmingham, Jul 5-10, 1990 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut
New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, Feb 11, 1973 scorecard
Last ODI
England v New Zealand at The Oval, May 25, 1990 scorecard
ODI statistics
First-class span
1971/72 - 1990
List A span
1971/72 - 1990
Profile
Few players in the history of cricket have carried the fortunes of their team to quite the same extent as Richard Hadlee. By the time he retired from international cricket in 1990, at the age of 39 and with a knighthood newly conferred upon him for his services to the game, Hadlee had cemented his place as one of the great fast bowlers of all time, and lifted New Zealand to unprecedented feats in the Test arena. As the first player to reach 400 Test wickets, Hadlee was always assured of immortality, but in addition to his matchless skills with the ball, he was also a hard-hitting batsman of unquestioned skill, and he is acknowledged as one of the four great allrounders of the 1980s, along with Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Kapil Dev. As one of five sons of Walter Hadlee, the former New Zealand captain, his cricket education began at an early age, and in 1971-72 he debuted for Canterbury, forming a penetrative new-ball partnership with his elder brother, Dayle. In those days, however, Hadlee was a tearaway, placing speed far ahead of guile, an attitude that was matched by his unkempt, long-haired appearance. As his knowhow grew, however, so his run-up (and locks) shortened and all the attributes of the model fast bowler fell into place. His lithe, whippy, side-on action made life uncomfortable for all the great batsmen of his era, as he extracted pace, bounce and movement from even the least responsive of surfaces. His first great demolition job came at Wellington in February 1978 - five years on from his debut - when his ten wickets, including 6 for 26 in the second innings, condemned England to a first defeat against the Kiwis. However, it was for the Australians that he preserved his finest efforts, and his 15-wicket haul at Brisbane in 1985-86 remains one of the most talked-of moments in Trans-Tasman rivalry. He needed just 79 matches to reach 400 wickets - a phenomenal strike-rate - and he was still very much at the top of his game when, in 1990, he bowed out against England at his adopted home of Trent Bridge - his second-innings haul of 5 for 53 included a wicket with his very last delivery. After retirement, he went onto to become an outspoken media pundit, and later the chairman of New Zealand's selectors. Andrew Miller
Notes
Knighted for services to cricket 1990
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1982
Tasmania First-Class Career Span: 1979-80
