Famous Cricketers No 79 - Richard Hadlee

approach which was brought about by a series of leg injuries. One comment that really hurt was when Don Cameron, from The New Zealand Herald , stated that “…New Zealand’s heaviest artillery (was) operating off a pop-gun run-up”. Hadlee also benefited from some hard hitting but sound advice early in his career from the big tall left-arm pace bowler Richard Collinge and then from Geoff Howarth, a splendid leader, who did so much to improve the fortunes of the New Zealand team. Inevitably, Hadlee faced many incidents and controversies both on and off the field during his 19 years playing first-class cricket. Early in his Test career, before he had really established himself in the New Zealand side, he had to put up with chants from the terraces at Eden Park suggesting that his selection had more to do with the fact that he was the chairman’s son rather than anything he had achieved on the field of play. There were also some unhappy times during his only season playing for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield in the 1979/80 season when his form was disappointing. Then when he toured Australia the following year he became the target of much verbal abuse and hostility after stating that Australian crowds were the worst in the world. Other incidents involving him in Australia only helped to add fuel to the fire and Hadlee, no doubt due to his tremendous success, became a hate figure for, what one assumes, was a small minority of Australians. There was also controversy during Hadlee’s years with Nottinghamshire as the pitches at Trent Bridge were ideally suited to the home side’s attack. Ron Allsopp, the groundsman, was known by some on the county circuit as the “greenkeeper for Hadlee and Rice” when he transformed the traditional featherbed into a lively pitch which so often provided a result. Accusations of “cheating” and “doctoring” were not uncommon but Allsopp was highly regarded as a groundsman and during Hadlee’s years at Trent Bridge his pitches were seldom the subject of a report to Lord’s. Other controversial incidents during Hadlee’s career included a protracted wrangle over an Alfa Romeo car which Hadlee had won and claimed for himself on the 1985/86 tour of Australia. Then in 1986/87, when New Zealand were playing against the West Indies in the Third Test at Christchurch, there was a complete breakdown in the relationship between Hadlee and his captain, Jeremy Coney. This followed views expressed by Hadlee about the attitude of the team to warm-up and practice sessions in his column in Truth . There were also many occasions when Hadlee clashed with the press and in addition experienced some difficulties in his dealings with the New Zealand Cricket Council, sometimes incurring their wrath and receiving a reprimand. However, all these matters could not compare with the serious decline in Hadlee’s health at the start of the 1983/84 season. Due to his many commitments and huge workload off the field, Hadlee was close to a complete mental and physical breakdown. However, thanks to the efforts of Grahame Felton, a Christchurch motivator, who was at the time helping the Canterbury team with their mental approach for the forthcoming Shell series, Hadlee made a wonderful recovery. It is indeed remarkable, considering all the pressure he faced over the years, both on and off the field, that Hadlee was still able to produce consistently so many great performances. So much depended on his achievements, whether he was playing Test, County or Shell series cricket. His bowling record in first-class cricket is unparalleled for a New Zealand cricketer: 1,490 wickets at 18.11; five wickets in an innings 102 times; ten wickets in a match 18 times! Furthermore, he was awarded the Winsor Cup for “the most meritorious” performances by a New Zealand bowler no less than 13 times, including 11 years in succession. When he changed to his shorter run-up, Hadlee found that what he had sacrificed in pace he more than compensated for in greater variation and, of course, he was able to bowl for longer spells. However, he still had the bouncer and the quicker ball up his sleeve, which were just as swift and deadly as before but were now used sparingly, as surprise weapons, which gave the batsman plenty to think about! Among his variations was the leg-cutter, his basic delivery, which on hitting the seam would dart away to the slips. He could also make one nip back by using the width of the crease and when 8