Interesting Facts, Trivia, And Records Of 'Sultan Of Swing' Richard Hadlee

Sir Richard John Hadlee, widely regarded as the Sultan of Swing, celebrates his 70th birthday today on the 3rd of July. He is one of the finest ever to play cricket. The New Zealand-born is one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket but was also among the top four all-rounders during his playing days along with Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, and Ian Botham. 

Let's take a look at the interesting facts, trivia, and records about Richard Hadlee: 

1) The whole Hadlee family has represented New Zealand at the highest level. His father, Walter Hadlee, was the former test captain of the country while his brothers - Dayle Hadlee and Barry Hadlee - played in the national team. Hadlee's ex-wife, Karen Marsh, too represented New Zealand in the 1978 Women's world cup.

2) Richard Hadlee was the first bowler in the history of cricket to take 400 test wickets. His 400th scalp was India's Sanjay Manjrekar in 1990 at Christchurch - his birthplace. 

3) The 6ft 1inch cricketer became the first cricketer to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in the ODIs. 

4) Hadlee played 148 first-class games for Nottinghamshire in which he took 622 wickets at a remarkable average of 14.51. His all-round skills were also on display as he scored 5854 runs, including 11 centuries. Later, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Nottingham. 

5) In 1980, Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and got knighted in the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to cricket.

6) Richard Hadlee was inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009. 

7) Canterbury's AMI Stadium had its north stand, which is now demolished due to earthquake, was named "Hadlee Stand". 

8) The annual series between New Zealand and Australia is named as Chappell-Hadlee trophy. 

9) Hadlee took a total of 36 five-wicket hauls in Test matches - a record in Test cricket at the time of his retirement. 

10) Sir Richard Hadlee played a total of 86 test matches in which he finished with 431 wickets and 3124 runs. In ODIs, he played 115 matches where he took 158 wickets and scored 1751 runs.