Why Richard Hadlee never played the 92 World Cup?

[Xuhaib]

Yeah I know its a pretty random thread but was going through his profile page on cricinfo and he retired just 18 month before the World Cup. Sure he was approaching 40 but

1.He was still bowling well possible the only one of the 4 marquee all rounders of the 80's who was still bowling close to his peak ere took 35 @ 23 in his final year of test cricket.

2. The odi's of that time there were 2 new ball employed from end end surely you would like to use the services of one of the best new ball bowler ever in a big event like World Cup.

3. It was a home World cup which should have been a motivation enough and unlike Richards who retired around the same time Hadlee had never tasted World Cup success

4. When Deepak Patel is your new ball bowler surely you could find a space for Sir Richard Hadlee in the side.

 

[turnstyle]

I sort of remember Sir Viv played in the series beforehand in Australia, but not in the World Cup either.

Edit: Completely take that back. Looks like he didn't.

 

[Zinzan]

Pretty simple really, he retired from all Cricket as of July 1990 as a 39 year old....

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

A significant facet of the great New Zealander was that he was a very figure-driven man. For a long time, the relentless pursuit of 400 wickets was what kept him going. He had serious injury problems with his knees around 1988/89 but steadied on and continued for that reason.

Having achieved that, he set his sights on retiring after the English summer of 1990. In many ways, touring England meant a lot to him personally as it was his county stint that helped him become a great fast bowler. Once that was done, and since test cricket had always been his priority, Paddles might have reckoned that his professional goals were achieved and hung up his boots.

 

[fredfertang]

Hadlee achieved what so few manage and got out while he was still just about at his peak - he got a 5fer in his last innings, a wicket with his final delivery and 16 wickets at 24 in his last series - its a great shame that Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Imran didn't do likewise (always accepting that comment doesn't apply with the same force to Imran who I appreciate played mainly as a batsman at the end of his career) - but you're a long time retired as an international cricketer, so I can understand the reluctance to exit centre stage and why most go on too long - Hadlee however timed it perfectly and, it seems from the OP, even 20 years on the public want more

 

[Xuhaib]

can still imagine a senior pro like Hadlee cutting short a young Inzi onslaught.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

can still imagine a senior pro like Hadlee cutting short a young Inzi onslaught.

I hear what you're saying, bro but how long would one man keep doing it?

He did for 17 long years and proved to be the greatest match-winner his nation ever had. At some stage, the Morrisons, the Nashs, the Cairnses, the Vettoris and the Doulls had to take responsibility for the sake of New Zealand cricket.

Apart from what Fred rightly said, Hadlee's level of fitness was not quite the same as it was earlier. He had some heart trouble in the late 80s (causing a lot of concern) and had an Achilles tendon operation which really spelt the end of his days.

See this video where Paddles himself talks about the issue. Once again, all hail Robelinda!

 

[Xuhaib]

I hear what you're saying, bro but how long would one man keep doing it?

He did for 17 long years and proved to be the greatest match-winner his nation ever had. At some stage, the Morrisons, the Nashs, the Cairnses, the Vettoris and the Doulls had to take responsibility for the sake of New Zealand cricket.

Apart from what Fred rightly said, Hadlee's level of fitness was not quite the same as it was earlier. He had some heart trouble in the late 80s (causing a lot of concern) and had an Achilles tendon operation which really spelt the end of his days.

See this video where Paddles himself talks about the issue. Once again, all hail Robelinda!

Ok I understand what you are saying part of my resentment is I never saw the great man live.

 

[Bun]

I hear what you're saying, bro but how long would one man keep doing it?

He did for 17 long years and proved to be the greatest match-winner his nation ever had. At some stage, the Morrisons, the Nashs, the Cairnses, the Vettoris and the Doulls had to take responsibility for the sake of New Zealand cricket.

Apart from what Fred rightly said, Hadlee's level of fitness was not quite the same as it was earlier. He had some heart trouble in the late 80s (causing a lot of concern) and had an Achilles tendon operation which really spelt the end of his days.

See this video where Paddles himself talks about the issue. Once again, all hail Robelinda!

You sir are a genuinely interesting poster..

 

[ankitj]

See this video where Paddles himself talks about the issue

Hadlee As I often say, Hadlee was the Atlas that never shrugged.

Comes across as a very humble guy in interviews but heard he had attitude issues. More a loner than an excessively proud?

 

[SteveNZ]

Hadlee As I often say, Hadlee was the Atlas that never shrugged.

Comes across as a very humble guy in interviews but heard he had attitude issues. More a loner than an excessively proud?

He was very self-motivated, selfish I guess you could say. He definitely served his country very well, but a lot of it was based around his own statisical records.

He's a bit misunderstood, I think. I've met him and had a good chat to him, he was very accomodating and insightful - spoke highly of a few of our youngsters too.

To answer the 92 World Cup question, he would've been 41. Also he probably didn't have the same motivation for ODIs, he came back from the Achilles injury as he said to get to 400 Test scalps and that was enough.

 

[Hurricane]

Hadlee achieved what so few manage and got out while he was still just about at his peak - he got a 5fer in his last innings, a wicket with his final delivery and 16 wickets at 24 in his last series - its a great shame that Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Imran didn't do likewise (always accepting that comment doesn't apply with the same force to Imran who I appreciate played mainly as a batsman at the end of his career) - but you're a long time retired as an international cricketer, so I can understand the reluctance to exit centre stage and why most go on too long - Hadlee however timed it perfectly and, it seems from the OP, even 20 years on the public want more

He certainly didn't embarrass himself in that last series. And I trust statistics more than my memory. But what I do remember from that tour is thinking that he wasn't as penetrative as he used to be. This could very well be because Atherton played him well however.

 

[methew123]

He has some problems in his shoulder that is the main reason leave world cup 92 i read this from a news paper i hope this a true.

 

[Sanz]

Don't remember Hadlee playing the 1987 Cup either. From what I remember, he wasn't very keen on playing ODIs anyway.

 

[Bun]

Don't remember Hadlee playing the 1987 Cup either. From what I remember, he wasn't very keen on playing ODIs anyway.

Well spotted!

 

[Sanz]

1987 was the first major cricket Tournament in India/Pak. Many big time players who decided to give the tournament a miss for reasons best known to them, those names included Botham, Hadlee and Gower. As a fan it was disappointing, also felt that had Botham and Gower played in that WC, England could have won the cup.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

You sir are a genuinely interesting poster..

Thanks, Bun! Hadlee was and remains a cricketing idol of mine and it's always great to share stuff about him.

Hadlee As I often say, Hadlee was the Atlas that never shrugged.

Comes across as a very humble guy in interviews but heard he had attitude issues. More a loner than an excessively proud?

The Atlas indeed! Life experiences and age mellowed him down a bit, I guess. Steve paints a very apt picture of the man and I agree.