Sledging just not cricket – Hadlee
SIR Richard Hadlee is highly critical of the abusive nature of some modern-day cricketers but is heartened by the spirit and camaraderie shown in the wake of Phil Hughes’ tragic death.
Hadlee delivered the inaugural Walter Hadlee Spirit of Cricket Oration at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval last night. The function is hoped to become an annual fixture, a Kiwi version of the MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture.
Hadlee agreed with Martin Crowe’s recent thoughts that the over-aggressive attitudes that had seeped into cricket had to end. There was no place in cricket for hate and angst, he said.
‘‘The game should be played hard and with intensity but not with this combative approach,’’ he told Fairfax Media yesterday.
‘‘There is no need for sledging and abuse of players and officials.’’
And while Hadlee bemoaned the warlike mentality some cricketers took, he was pleasantly surprised at how the cricketing world came together to collectively mourn the death of the Australian batsman.
‘‘It exemplified the spirit of cricket to me,’’ he said.
Hughes died after a bouncer in a first-class match struck him on the back of the head. Hadlee called Hughes’ death a ‘‘tragic accident’’ where there was ‘‘no fault or blame’’.
The bouncer was an integral part of the game and must remain.
‘‘It’s part of the spectacle. There are rules around it. It’s not to be intimidatory or persistent and bowlers can only bowl two per over.
‘‘In the 1976 tour to Pakistan, we played the third test in Karachi. Imran Khan bowled six bouncers in a row to me. That was intimidatory and he was removed from the crease Sir Richard
Hadlee and not allowed to bowl for the rest of the innings.’’
New Zealand went on to save the test with Hadlee scoring 87 and 30 not out.
He said the spirit of cricket did change, citing an example of his days captaining the Christchurch Boys’ High School first XI.
‘‘It was 1969 and we were playing Riccarton. The batsman pushed the ball behind point for an easy single. He slipped and when the ball was thrown to me at the bowler’s end, he was still well out of his crease but I just walked back to my bowling mark. I felt running him out would have been unfair. I thought it was unsporting to run him out when it would have been an easy run. Given the same circumstances today, I believe 99.999 per cent of players would have run him out. And I would say it’s now the right thing to do.’’
He spoke about what siders the game’s cancer.
‘‘The biggest issues for cricket at the moment are match-fixing, bribery and corruption. They need everyone involved to help stamp them out because they’re a virus on cricket. The penalties need to be severe.’’
Hadlee said the increased scrutiny and availability of players wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did bring with it added responsibility because of the use of camera phones and social media.
Hadlee, New Zealand’s premier swing bowler and the first cricketer to take 400 test wickets, had serious questions about night test matches.
‘‘The ball colour is a problem ... There will be a tough period of batting between day and night where the light will be transitional.
‘‘And if there is dew and the ball gets damp, that could affect bowlers trying to swing or spin the ball.
‘‘The decision-makers have a lot to consider,’’ he said.
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