Famous Cricketers No 79 - Richard Hadlee

1979 - in England Frustratingly for Hadlee, from about early July he was “troubled by a hamstring injury that plagued him for the remainder of the summer” ( Wisden ) and as a result he appeared in only twelve first-class games for Nottinghamshire during the season. Still, when he was fit there were some memorable performances, but, of course, his absence from the team for so many matches was a big blow to the chances of his side. At Trent Bridge Glamorgan seemed to be working themselves into a favourable position when they were 124 for 3 in their second innings, but then Hadlee struck! Having already taken two early wickets, he now tore apart their innings and Wisden records that in one spell he took “five wickets for 3 runs in 28 deliveries”. Hadlee ended with figures of 15.2-5-28-7. This was Hadlee’s best innings return for the county and it gave Nottinghamshire their first win of the season in the County Championship. Hadlee recorded even better figures against Sussex. Set 219 to win, they were reduced to 59 for 9 but their last pair hung on to force a draw. This time Hadlee’s figures read 13-4-23-7 and Wisden stated: “Hadlee rushed through the opposition in spectacular style ...”. During the season Nottinghamshire defeated both the Sri Lankan and Indian tourists and, not surprisingly, Hadlee and Rice were well to the fore. This deadly duo disposed of the Sri Lankans for just 129 in their second innings, Hadlee taking 3 for 35 and Rice 5 for 29. Against the Indians the Hadlee-Rice combination accounted for 15 of the 19 wickets to fall to the bowlers. It was unfortunate for Nottinghamshire that Hadlee was not available more often for as Wisden records: “There were times when the pace and hostility of overseas stars Rice and Hadlee not only won games but turned potential defeats into probable victories.” Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 95. Nottinghamshire v Lancashire, Trent Bridge, May (2), 3, (4) (Match drawn) did not bat - 53-2 96. Nottinghamshire v Sri Lankans, Trent Bridge, May 12, 14, 15 (Nottinghamshire won by ten wickets) c S.A.Jayasinghe b S.Jeganathan 0 408-9d 12 5 29 0 286 did not bat - 10-0 13.5 4 35 3 S.R.de S.Wettimuny c P.A.Todd 129 A.R.M.Opatha c B.N.French G.R.A.de Silva lbw 97. Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire, Trent Bridge, May 16, 17, 18 (Match drawn) c J.C.Balderstone b J.P.Agnew 2 184 15 3 53 3 B.F.Davison b 153 1 D.I.Gower c and b R.W.Tolchard c H.T.Tunnicliffe not out 3 215-6d 11 8 12 2 N.E.Briers c P.A.Todd 68-3 J.F.Steele b 98. Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan, Trent Bridge, June 2, 4, 5 (Nottinghamshire won by six wickets) not out 25 250-9d 17 7 39 2 A.L.Jones lbw 220-8c E.W.Jones c B.N.French did not bat - 112-4 15.2 5 28 7 A.Jones lbw 141 R.C.Ontong c C.E.B.Rice A.L.Jones c M.J.Smedley P.D.Swart c M.J.Smedley M.J.Llewellyn c P.A.Todd G.Richards b A.H.Wilkins c C.E.B.Rice 99. Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire, Leicester, June 23, 25, 26 (Leicestershire won by three wickets) c K.Higgs b J.F.Steele 8 243 29.5 15 53 1 J.F.Steele c M.J.Harris 270-8d 1 c sub b B.Dudleston 5 179 13 0 42 3 J.F.Steele b 156-7 N.E.Briers b R.W.Tolchard lbw 100. Nottinghamshire v Sussex, Trent Bridge, June 30, July 2, 3 (Match drawn) c J.R.T.Barclay b G.G.Arnold 0 163 25 9 53 0 307-9d 28