Sir Richard Hadlee will go down in the history of cricket as one of the top all-rounders of the game. The New Zealand star was the first ever player in the history of the game to reach the 400-wicket mark in Test cricket. By the time he ended his career, Sir Richard Hadlee had picked 431 scalps from 86 matches with a best of 9/52. He also picked 36 fifers, and on 9 occasions he had picked ten in the game.
In a career spanning 17 years, Sir Richard Hadlee made his Test debut in 1973 versus Pakistan in Wellington. He picked 2 wickets in the first innings and then followed it up with 46 runs with the bat. Even with the bat, the Kiwi legend managed to leave an impression. 3124 runs came from Sir Richard Hadlee’s bat with 2 centuries and 15 fifties with an average of 27 and a best of 151 not out.
In an era where Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and Imran Khan dominated, the fourth cog in the wheel was Sir Richard Hadlee. His exploits with the bat and ball meant he wasn’t far behind in getting to be counted as one of the best cricketers of all time.
Sir Richard Hadlee’s final bow
The New Zealand tour of England in 1990 was the last time the world saw Sir Richard Hadlee take the field. It was the third and final Test at Birmingham between England and New Zealand which saw the Kiwi great take to the field.
England batted first and scored 435 on the board with Graham Gooch hitting 154 runs, while Mike Atherton scored 82. Sir Richard Hadlee picked 3/97 with the ball including the scalps of Allan Lamb and Eddie Hemmings.
With the bat, the Kiwi great scored 8 runs from 19 balls as the Kiwis were bowled out for 249 in their 1st innings. In the second innings, Sir Richard Hadlee picked 5/53 from 21 overs to bowl out the hosts for 158. The Kiwis were all out for 230 in their second dig as Sir Richard Hadlee scored 13 to end his Test career on a sad note.
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