Hadlee bowls bouncer

Press, 21 November 1987, Page 96

Hadlee bowls bouncer

PA Sydney New Zealand’s great cricketing all-rounder, Richard Hadlee, signed up to report on the tour of Australia for a Sydney newspaper, bowled a bouncer at two local detractors in his first column yesterday. Queensland’s new star, lan Botham — in a similar Australian tabloid newspaper column written by a journalist on his behalf — said that Hadlee was too old and past his best. Hadlee said in his column that he thought Botham had his tongue in his cheek but Hadlee agreed with the West Australian captain, Graeme Wood, that he would not do anywhere near as well as he did in the last test series against Australia in 1985.

“Statistically he’s prob-

abiy right because 33 wickets in three tests is a difficult task to repeat,” Hadlee wrote.

“But if I manage just half that number it will still have been a tremendous series for me.” Hadlee said he was looking at maintaining his strike rate of about five wickets a test and he could take the 18 wickets he needed to catch up Botham’s world record 373 test victims while in Australia.

"But one thing’s for sure — I’ve got nothing to prove to the likes of Botham and Wood.”

"I rather suspect the Australian batsmen have got to prove they can survive against me.” Hadlee’s recruitment by the “Daily Telegraph” attracted some sneers from “The Australian” news-

paper — a stablemate in Rupert Murdoch’s News Ltd.

“One of the unmistakable signs of superstardom is being paid handsomely for doing something reluctantly and not very well,” “The Australian’s” chief cricket writer, Terry Brindle, led off.

"Hadlee has signed a newspaper contract which will turn his innermost thoughts on the coming series against Australia into cash at an hourly rate which is usually the preserve of millionaires and stock market speculators.

“By the good offices of a journalist earning a comparative pittance, he will achieve a level of articulation that will quite probably surprise even himself.”