Biography Of Richard Hadlee- Bowler Of Devastating Control And Intelligence
Sir Richard John Hadlee is one of the finest cricketers New Zealand has produced. Richard Hadlee was a bowler of devastating control and intelligence: the first to 400 Test wickets; and one of the four great all-rounders of the 1980s. 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.
Hadlee is rated by many experts as the greatest exponent of bowling with the new ball. He was the master of (conventional) swing and was the original Sultan of Swing. Along with Malcolm Marshall, Hadlee was seen as one of the finest fast bowlers of his time, despite the contemporaneous presence of Dennis Lillee, Imran Khan, Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Kapil Dev and Wasim Akram among others.
Born on 3rd July 1951 in Christchurch, Hadlee was one of the five sons of Walter Hadlee, 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. His lethal, 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.
Hadlee began his Test career in 1973, but his first five years were fairly ordinary, fetching him only 61 wickets, each costing more than 35. However his breakthrough performance came against India in 1976 in which he took 11 wickets in a game resulting in a win for New Zealand and cemented his place in the side. In 1978, Hadlee helped New Zealand to a historic first win over England by taking 6 for 26 in England's second innings, bowling the visitors out for 64 chasing a target of 137.
From that point onward, Hadlee steadily put together his marvellous career: his bowling developed, his batting was full of handsome and ambitious strokes, and his fielding at his favourite gully position was quite outstanding. In 1979-80, New Zealand faced the West Indies in a home test series. At that time the West Indies were a formidable power in world cricket. In the first test in Dunedin, New Zealand achieved a shock 1-wicket win, in which Hadlee claimed 11 wickets. In the second test of the series, Hadlee recorded his maiden test century, helping New Zealand draw the test and win the series 1–0. The result was the start of a 12-year unbeaten home record for New Zealand in test match series. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1980 Queen's Birthday Honours.
