Hadlee’s gift to Canty

Sir Richard Hadlee is still making a huge impact in cricket, even nearly 30 years since retiring from the sport.

In his first public appearance since a secondary cancer was detected in his liver in July, New Zealand’s greatest cricketer continues to help the next generation of talent.

At a function at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval pavilion on Tuesday night, the Sir Richard Hadlee Sports Trust provided the first large tranche of funding for the refurbishment of the Hagley Sports Centre (neighbouring Hagley Oval), donating $800,000. The facility will be named the Sir Richard Hadlee Sports Centre.

The original Hagley Sports Centre first opened in 1968 with the Canterbury Horticultural Centre taking over the building in 1989. In March 2017, the Horticultural Hall was purchased off the Christchurch Horticultural Society by the Canterbury Cricket Trust (CCT).

Hadlee first used the indoor facility in the 1970s to prepare for overseas tours over the winter months and even played squash matches there. ‘‘The Hadlee Pavilion is already an outstanding venue and I look forward to seeing the sports centre start construction as soon as possible.

It is estimated the Trust will need to raise $4million by mid-April 2019 to ensure the facility is completed. CCT chair Lee Robinson said the donation from the Sir Richard Hadlee Trust meant they had almost a quarter of the monies required to be raised. The Trust still needed an additional $3.2 million and have called on the cricketing public to assist with this.