Famous Cricketers No 79 - Richard Hadlee

1984 - in England A really great performance by Richard Hadlee during the season, when he became the first player to achieve the double since 1967, so nearly brought the County Championship title back to Trent Bridge. In a nail-biting end to the season, Nottinghamshire lost their last match to Somerset at Taunton by just three runs when Mike Bore was dismissed off the fifth ball of the last over, caught on the boundary going for the winning hit. Reviewing the season, Wisden highlighted just how important Hadlee’s contribution was to the side: “…much emanated from the talents of the New Zealand all-rounder, Richard Hadlee. His remarkable displays, which brought him the coveted double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, were a constant source of inspiration to his colleagues. Hadlee’s displays overshadowed the contribution of anyone else at Trent Bridge…”. In his first Championship game he returned amazing match figures of 8 for 22 against Surrey. Not surprisingly, Nottinghamshire won this game by 225 runs. At Chelmsford, Essex appeared to have denied the Trent Bridge side a win when Graham Gooch (108) made a splendid century. However, Hadlee (6-52) “with the second new ball captured the last five wickets in five overs for 11 runs” ( Wisden ). With 71* on the first day, he thus completed a fine all-round match. The New Zealander continued to excel with both bat and ball (7 for 86 in the match) against Hampshire at Bournemouth. Coming in at 134 for 5 in the first innings, he made 100*, staying for 159 minutes, hitting two sixes and nine fours, and with Bruce French (70*) put on 174* for the sixth wicket. In the second innings the same pair prevented Hampshire turning the tables on the Trent Bridge side. Needing only 123 to win, Nottinghamshire slumped to 49 for 5 but Hadlee (37) and French (26*) once more came to the rescue as the visitors in the end managed to squeak home by just two wickets. A “belligerent” ( Wisden ) 71 in 110 minutes and four good wickets saw Hadlee play his part in the win over Glamorgan. At Trent Bridge Hadlee (11-76) proved too good for Gloucestershire, returning figures of 7 for 35 in the first innings, and then against Sussex he took 8 for 47 in the match with second innings analysis of 10-5-6-4. In this latter game Nottinghamshire got off to an uncertain start in their second innings but Hadlee, coming in at 82 for 4, made 67 and helped Derek Randall (110*) add 142 for the fifth wicket. Against Worcestershire he had figures of 5 for 61 in the second innings and in the game with Lancashire Hadlee took six wickets in another win for the Trent Bridge side. In the return fixture with Worcestershire he made 70 and rescued his side after the loss of early wickets, but against Derbyshire his efforts were in vain. Despite taking 7 for 77 in the match, and also scoring a useful 56, Derbyshire, after being forced to follow on, won this game by 28 runs. Lord’s saw Hadlee at his best as he gave a wonderful all-round performance. First he played an important part in the field as Middlesex (152) were dismissed cheaply. Taking 4 for 55, he sent back Graham Barlow (2) as the home side lost both openers with just four runs on the board. Later, he dismissed Clive Radley (50), the top-scorer of the innings. However, Nottinghamshire appeared to have lost the upper hand when Hadlee came to the wicket at 17 for 4 but the New Zealander readily accepted the challenge. Batting altogether for 356 minutes, he faced 261 balls and remained undefeated for a magnificent 210 – his only double-century in first-class cricket. Hitting one six and twenty-four fours, he received good support from Paul Johnson (36), Bruce French (26) and Peter Such (16). Johnson helped him put on 124 for the fifth wicket, then Hadlee nursed French and Such in stands of 107 and 57 for the sixth and last wicket respectively. There were more useful runs and wickets for Hadlee in a drawn game with Kent but in the games that followed, firstly with Lancashire, and then with Warwickshire – both won by the Trent Bridge side – the New Zealander achieved his much sought-after goals to complete that coveted double. Against Lancashire he returned second innings figures of 5 for 40 and thus claimed his 100th first-class wicket of the season when he bowled L.L.McFarlane (2). In the next match at Trent Bridge he obtained those 21 runs he needed during his innings of 39 against Warwickshire. In this game Hadlee caused the visitors plenty of problems with the ball, taking 6 for 55 in the first innings and 9 for 103 in the match. Nottinghamshire won their third Championship game in a row when they defeated Northamptonshire in just two days by an innings and 97 runs. Hadlee made 78 in only 68 minutes and shared a fifth-wicket stand of 106 with Clive Rice (103*). However, the Trent Bridge side could not beat Sussex – only one wicket to Hadlee in the match – and then came so tantalisingly close against Somerset as the New Zealander and the rest of the side went all out for the runs in a last-ditch but unavailing attempt to take the title from Essex. 49