Walter Hadlee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Walter Hadlee

Hadlee at the 3rd Test against England, the Oval, 1937
Personal information
Born	(1915-06-04)4 June 1915 Lincoln, Canterbury, New Zealand
Died	29 September 2006(2006-09-29) (aged 91) Christchurch, New Zealand
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
International information
National side	New Zealand (1937–1951)
Test debut (cap 29)	26 June 1937 v England
Last Test	24 March 1951 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1933/34–1944/45	Canterbury
1945/46–1946/47	Otago
1947/48–1951/52	Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 11 117 Runs scored 543 7,523 Batting average 30.16 40.44 100s/50s 1/2 18/31 Top score 116 198 Balls bowled 0 632 Wickets – 6 Bowling average – 48.83 5 wickets in innings 0 {{{fivefor2}}} 10 wickets in match 0 {{{tenfor2}}} Best bowling – 3/14 Catches/stumpings 6/– 70/–
Source: Cricinfo, 1 April 2017

Walter Arnold Hadlee (born June 4, 1915 – died September 29, 2006) was a famous New Zealand cricketer. He was also a captain for the New Zealand Test match team. He played for Canterbury and Otago in New Zealand's domestic cricket games. Walter Hadlee came from a very talented cricket family! Three of his five sons, Sir Richard, Dayle, and Barry, also played cricket for New Zealand. The Chappell–Hadlee Trophy, a cricket award, is named after the Hadlee family and the Australian Chappell family.

Walter Hadlee led one of New Zealand's best cricket teams in 1949. This team toured England when New Zealand had not yet won a Test match. As a cricket leader, he helped guide New Zealand cricket in the 1970s. This was a time when cricket was becoming more professional. He also received the Bert Sutcliffe Medal in 2001 for his great contributions to cricket.

Early Life and Cricket Start

Walter Hadlee was born in Lincoln, a town in Canterbury, New Zealand. He fell in love with cricket when he was about 10 years old. He loved reading about cricket history. He also kept scorebooks for big games and practiced a lot.

At Christchurch Boys' High School, he played hockey and rugby too. He became a strong batsman, especially good at hitting the ball hard. He even captained his school's top cricket team. After school, he trained to become an accountant.

Playing Cricket: First-Class Career

In his first season playing for Canterbury (1933–34), Hadlee scored over 50 runs on average. In his second season, he averaged 94 runs. He scored 10 centuries (100 runs or more in one game) for Canterbury. He played 44 matches for Canterbury before stopping in 1951–52. He scored 3,183 runs for them, averaging 43.60. His highest score was 194 runs, not out.

Test Debut and War Years

Hadlee made his first Test match appearance against England in 1937. This was at Lord's, a famous cricket ground. New Zealand had only joined the Imperial Cricket Conference 11 years before. They had played their first Test match just 7 years earlier. Walter was known as a tall, elegant, and attacking opening batsman.

He missed playing during the Second World War. He could not join the Armed Forces because he had short sight.

Captaincy and Famous Tours

In 1945–46, he scored 198 runs for Otago against the touring Australian team. He was then chosen to be the captain of New Zealand for the first Test match after the war. This game was against Australia that same year. The pitch was wet from rain, and New Zealand was bowled out for only 42 and 54 runs. They lost the game badly. New Zealand did not play Australia in Tests again until 1973–74.

His captaincy of the 1949 New Zealand team that toured England was a highlight of his playing career. Many people still say the 1949 team was one of the best New Zealand teams ever. Famous players like Bert Sutcliffe and Martin Donnelly were on this team. During the tour, Hadlee scored 1,439 runs. He averaged 36 runs per innings and scored two centuries. His team played 35 matches and lost only one. They drew all four Test matches against England, meaning no team won the series.

A famous English cricket writer, John Woodcock, said Hadlee was a "courageous and enterprising batsman." He also called him a "popular and successful captain." Another writer, John Arlott, said he was a "strategic commander of real ability."

Test Match Achievements

In total, Hadlee played 19 innings in 11 Test matches. He scored 543 runs, averaging 30.16. He was never out for a single digit score in Test matches. His last Test was against England in 1950–51. His only Test century, 116 runs, came against England in Christchurch in 1946–47. He was an opening batsman in that game. He stopped playing first-class cricket in 1952. He kept playing club cricket in Christchurch for another 15 years. He scored a record 15,391 runs in club games.

In his entire first-class career, he scored 7,523 runs from 117 matches. He averaged 40.44 runs and scored 18 centuries.

Cricket Leadership and Honors

After his playing career, Walter Hadlee became a national selector for New Zealand cricket. He also managed the New Zealand team. He was part of the management committee and Board of Control for New Zealand cricket from 1950 to 1983. He was the chairman from 1973 to 1978 and the president from 1981 to 1983.

He was part of a protest movement called "No Maoris, No Tour." This group protested against the All Blacks rugby team touring South Africa in 1960. This was because of South Africa's apartheid policy, which separated people by race. Later, he faced some criticism for writing an article in the 1982 Wisden. In the article, he suggested that South Africa should be allowed to play international cricket again.

Walter Hadlee received honors for his contributions to sports. In 1950, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1978, he was promoted to Commander of the same order (CBE) for his services to cricket.

Family Life

Walter Hadlee married Lilla Monro in 1940. They had met on a ship to England in 1937. They had five sons. Walter was very proud that three of his sons played for New Zealand:

• Dayle was a fast bowler in Test cricket.
• Barry was a batsman who played in the first 1975 Cricket World Cup.
• Richard became a leading all-rounder (good at both batting and bowling). He took 431 Test wickets, which was a world record at the time. He also took 1,490 first-class wickets. Richard was later made a knight for his amazing contributions to cricket.

A fourth son, Martin, also played club cricket in Christchurch.

Walter Hadlee published his autobiography, Innings of a Lifetime, in 1993. In his later years, he enjoyed playing lawn bowls. He passed away at the age of 91 in Christchurch.

In 2017, Walter Hadlee's son, Sir Richard Hadlee, spoke about a project he was doing about his father's 1949 England tour. He shared how important Walter Hadlee was in his life.