Sultan of swing: Sir Richard Hadlee
He’s bowled 100,000 balls, died three times, and been knighted for services to cricket. A national treasure in every sense, cricketing legend Sir Richard Hadlee sits down with Metropol deputy editor Tamara Pitelen to talk mortality, glory days, and Ed Sheeran.
“If I had a second life, I’d want to come back as a singer-songwriter, someone like Ed Sheeran,” Sir Richard Hadlee tells me. “I’d love to be able to play a guitar and entertain the audiences. My brother Dayle has played in a Scottish folk group for about 50 years…”
This is not how I thought my conversation with New Zealand’s greatest cricketer of all time would go (but I love that it has). We are sitting in the lounge of the beautiful home he shares with his wife Dianne and their two rescue cats, Harry and Heidi, in Pegasus Town, Waimakariri. The room is flooded with light from the floor to ceiling window overlooking a spectacular view of pristine lawn (“I have a ride-on mower – great fun”) and serene lake. One wall displays family photos, notably his four grandsons – two each from his sons Matt and Nick. As an aside, the Y chromosome is strong in Sir Richard’s family. As well as having only sons and grandsons himself, he is one of five sons of former New Zealand cricket captain Walter Hadlee, alongside brothers Dayle, Barry, Christopher, and Martin.
Sir Richard’s revelation that he’d like to have a crack at being a pop star is just one of the surprising things I learn about him during our chat. I also didn’t expect him to tell me his guilty pleasure was McDonald’s, that he’s been involved in writing 13 books, bowled about 100,000 balls, has officially died three times, or that meeting Nelson Mandela was a life highlight that taught him about forgiveness. “He was incarcerated for 27 years but when he came out of imprisonment, he forgave those who’d locked him away. For me, that had a powerful impact.”
Key cricketing achievements
But before we go on, let’s remember why this devastating fast bowler and sporting legend is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in global cricket history. This is a brief summary. A full one would fill this entire magazine.
After debuting for Canterbury in 1971, he played in 86 international Test matches for New Zealand over 19 years from 1973 to 1990. He was the first bowler in cricket history to reach 400 Test wickets, finishing his career with 431 at a remarkable average of 22.29 and he currently holds the world record for most five-wicket bags against another test country (14 times versus Australia). His greatest bowling achievement was taking 15 wickets in a match against Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane in 1985, helping New Zealand secure their first ever test and series win in Australia 2/0. Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman once described him as “the Master of rhythm and swing” due to his breathtaking ability to swing and seam the ball with deadly accuracy.
Sir Richard was appointed an MBE in the 1980 Queen’s Birthday Honours List and later knighted in the 1990 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to cricket. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009 and the New Zealand Cricket Hall of Fame in 2024.
After retirement he was a New Zealand cricket selector including being Chairman and Selection Manager. He served on the Board of New Zealand Cricket for four years where, among other things, he championed the White Ferns.
“I love women’s sports. When I was on the Board, I was promoting our White Ferns, who were amateurs, so we’re talking 2014. They weren’t getting a fair deal. We needed to do more for them if we were expecting them to win and be up there with England and Australia, we had to fund them more and give them more resources.”
He’s also a big fan of women’s rugby and football. “I’ve found women’s sport to be hugely entertaining; the athleticism and the skill sets are equal of the men. The Black Ferns, the Fifteens, and the Sevens. I love watching the Phoenix girls in the football, I watch all the games. I’ve watched men’s games for so long, but the women don’t get treated fairly from my point of view, in the way of earnings and that sort of thing.”
Rhythm and swing
Now aged 75, Sir Richard says he is well aware of his mortality thanks in part to a list of health challenges. These include open heart surgery in 1991, a year to the day he retired from international cricket, to fix his heart rhythm, followed by a right hip and left knee replacement (“from the wear and tear of bowling”). He was then diagnosed with bowel cancer and had a third of his bowel removed, which was unfortunately followed by liver cancer.
“They took out 15% of my liver but that grows back. Then I had seven months of chemo and it took nearly a year to recover from that physically, let alone mentally. The latest thing is prostate cancer. I’ve had radiation on that area.”
Unsurprisingly, these experiences have all shaped his outlook on life. “You learn about your own mortality. There’s going to be a day when it’s all over and you’ve got to face that,” he says. “I’ve actually died three times and had five ambulance trips, which is why I support St John.”
He and Dianne now focus on enjoying life and taking each day as it comes. The very act of waking up in the morning is a gift. “It’s that old saying, ‘don’t take life for granted’. You reflect on those things. The thing that really keeps us going is the grandkids. Now we’ve got five-year-old twin boys here, and two other grandkids up in Auckland. We’re getting the twins for more sleepovers, we’ve seen them every Tuesday since they were born and these days we pick them up from school. So, it’s about the next generation, there’s a purpose and a focus of wanting to see them grow and develop.”
Retirement life
Given this conversation, it’s fitting that Sir Richard and I have met to talk about one of his latest ventures. He is namesake for the Ryman Richard Hadlee Village in Northwood, which recently opened its new village centre, bringing together stylish independent living and serviced apartments, care and premium amenities, including an indoor heated swimming pool and spa, gym, on site café, movie theatre and more. Much of Sir Richard’s personal memorabilia is displayed at the Ryman Village including the private diary his father wrote while captain of the 1949 New Zealand cricket team’s eight-month tour of England. Sir Richard has turned that same journal into a coffee table book called The Skipper’s Diary.
“It took me four years to complete the book. It has 514 pages and 150 photographs. It’s in honour of my father and to recognise the achievements of the team who were called the 49ers. No other team in the history of New Zealand cricket is named after the year in which they play. This book is my greatest life achievement, irrespective of what I’ve done myself in cricket.”
I ask Richard if he has plans to live at the Richard Hadlee Village himself. “Not yet but in five years, who knows? A lot of people from Pegasus have moved there and they say they wish they’d done it years ago but we’re not quite ready, we love this house. Retired living villages are great though because retirement doesn’t have to mean slowing down. It’s a chance to try new things, spend more time with family and friends, and make the most of each day. I know for a lot of people, communities like the Village make it easy to stay social, active, and connected.”
His approach to life in the meantime? “One day at a time. Giving thanks for every morning I wake up.”
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21 November, Richard Hadlee Village Community Open Day
Located at 20 Radcliffe Road, Northwood, Richard Hadlee Village will officially celebrate the opening of its new village centre on 21 November, 10am-2pm, with a Community Open Day. Enjoy cricket-inspired games and prizes, free Rollickin Gelato, art, music and more. Explore retirement options and see the village’s newest amenities, including the café, bar, lounges, swimming pool, gym, salon, cinema and bowling green. Plus, don’t miss the chance to hear Sir Richard speak at Richard Hadlee Village’s Open Day on 28 November.
rymanhealthcare.co.nz/community-open-day
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Quick fire questions with Sir Richard
Who was your biggest cricket nemesis back in the day?
I respect every player that I played against but I had some good battles with [Australian] Dean Jones. Sadly, he’s no longer with us. We had some good ding-dong battles out in the middle, particularly in the Test matches. I probably won those battles, but he probably beat me in the one-day games.
Are great cricketers made or born?
We’re all born with different genes, body shapes and sizes. Once you have some assets that you can use, you’ve still got to train, work hard and develop a very efficient technique. Over the years, I probably bowled 100,000 cricket balls, so I managed to survive.
Favourite movie?
The Magnificent Seven, the original one. I can still name all the actors. I love action movies from the 60s and 70s, The Great Escape, Lawrence of Arabia, The Bandits.
Music?
I love country and western like John Denver, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt. And folk music. I’m a great fan of Peter, Paul and Mary.
Your favourite place to hang out in Christchurch?
We use the Coffee Club down at Ravenswood quite regularly, just for a coffee. Sometimes I’ll go in for breakfast and lunch of bacon and eggs.
What’s your guilty pleasure meal?
I used to be a big McDonald’s person, but through health reasons, I’ve had to tone that down. So instead of having weeklies, I might treat myself every three or four months.
Which current New Zealand cricket players have your attention?
I take a great deal of interest in our fast bowlers, and there’s a young fast bowler on the scene now, doing well. Will O’Rourke is his name, big strong fella, got good pace, good skills. If he can stay fit along with the others, Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson, we need them in Australia with the series coming up shortly. It’ll make us more competitive if all of them are firing.
