He is one of the finest fast bowlers the world has seen and arguably the greatest cricketer to emerge from New Zealand. His spell of 9 for 52 that decimated Australia in Brisbane 25 years ago is a part of cricketing legend. Yet none of them seems enough for New Zealand Cricket; according to a report in One News, not only is Hadlee s Brisbane performance not being honoured at NZC s annual cricket awards ceremony, he hasn t even been invited to the event.
When asked about this glaring omission, Justin Vaughan, chief executive of NZC said, I m not sure whether he got invited or not. We can t invite every great player. Wasn't it an oversight given Hadlee is the only cricketer from New Zealand in the ICC Hall of Fame? Vaughan replied, No I don t think so. We do this every year. Sir Richard gets invited to the Chappell-Hadlee games every time which is just fitting considering it is named after the Hadlees. Ironically, the trophy for ODI batting, named after Walter Hadlee, Richard s father, will be presented at the ceremony by Ricki Herbert, coach of the All Whites.