Richard Hadlee and 'The 200 Club'

FLASHBACK: The name Richard Hadlee has certainly stirred the imagination of the sports-loving public of New Zealand. New Zealand has produced great cricketers over the years and names that come to mind are Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid, Glen Turner are the names that come easily to one's mind. But Richard Hadlee towers above them all.

Richard Hadlee completed 200 wickets in a Test career when he reached this milestone on August 28th 1983, in the most dramatic circumstances by claiming the very last English wicket to fall (that of Norman Cowans) in the second innings of the final Test of the rubber. It was Hadlee's 44th Test, which means that he did it quicker than either Kapil's 200 in 50 Tests or Imran's 200 in 45 Tests. Botham was the fastest of 'em all - 200 wickets in 41 Tests.

In sheer performance and crowd-pulling ability there is no one who has done as much for New Zealand as Richard Hadlee. He's got a beautiful run-up; he generates genuine pace and has one of the best outswingers in the business. Having played country cricket he has added the inswinger to his repertoire and he is certainly a most difficult and awkward customer on a green and lively wicket.

His run-up starts off in a somewhat old fashion because his body seems to move forward and he leans out and then instead of taking off his right foot comes back as though he's going into reverse. Then suddenly he starts off again with that run-up of his accelerating into a beautiful action and a fine side on delivery, as classical as one would hope to see.

Competitive player

He is an intensely competitive player as the Australians have found out and it is no wonder, as they are very competitive players themselves and would like to battle with someone like Richard Hadlee. The Australian crowds also find him as a customer that they cannot ignore.

Richard Hadlee made his Test debut on February 2nd 1973 at Wellington against Pakistan, scoring 46 and taking 2 for 84, his first victim being Asif Iqbal.

* His 50th wicket in his 14th Test was none other than that of India's Mohinder Amarnath at Kanpur on November 21st 1976.

* His 100th wicket came in his 25th Test that was against Pakistan where Imran Khan at Napier on February 17th in 1979.

Came the World Cup in 1979 and he bowled very well at Headingley. The wicket was ideal for him, just slightly green, and with enough bounce in it for him to exploit. He never gave the Englishmen much of a chance and although the England side mustered up a fair total, Hadlee saw to it that the Englishman did not put up an imposing total.

* His 150th wicket came in his 34th Test was the prized scalp of India's Sunil Gavaskar at Christchurch on March 6th 1981.

Richard Hadlee completed his 1,000 runs in 50th innings of his 28th Test on February 26th 1980, in the course of his only Test century at Christchurch against West Indies - a hurricane 103 against the thunderbolts of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, reaching three figures off only 88 balls in just 109 minites, simultaneously achieving the rare feat of becoming the first and only New Zealander to obtain Test cricket's coveted 'Double'.

The 1980-81 season in Australia, in which India shared a tour with New Zealand, found Richard Hadlee one of the main attractions of the tour.

Hadlee's wife also played cricket. She represented New Zealand in women's cricket, Richard's father also played for New Zealand and was Chairman of the New Zealand Cricket Council after he returned from competitive cricket. His brother Dayle played for New Zealand and his other brother, Bony was in the 1979 World Cup side, though he did not play an official Test for New Zealand.

A.C.de S