Sir Richard Hadlee receives his Hall of Fame vase – for a second time

Sir Richard Hadlee was yesterday awarded his Hall of Fame vase for a second time in Christchurch, New Zealand during the one day international between New Zealand and Pakistan.

The New Zealand all-rounder was originally inducted into the then FICA Hall of Fame in the 1990s and was presented with a Waterford Crystal vase to commemorate the occasion.

Sadly in the earthquake that hit the Christchurch area last year the vase was broken. With the assistance of FICA chief executive Tim May and former England Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan, the ICC was able to locate a replacement vase - even though the they are no longer being manufactured.

The vase was transported from London via Dubai to Christchurch and was presented to Sir Richard, New Zealand’s only Hall of Fame representative, at Lancaster Park in Christchurch by ICC Vice President Alan Isaac and New Zealand Players’ Association chief executive Heath Mills. Also in attendance were New Zealand Cricket’s chairman Chris Moller and chief executive Justin Vaughan.

Alan Isaac said: ‘I am delighted that the ICC and FICA were able to work together to find a replacement memento for Sir Richard which could be presented here in Christchurch, which was devastated by the earthquake last year. The Hall of Fame recognizes the great players of world cricket and there is no doubt that Sir Richard fits that description of a truly great player. It is an honour to present him with the Waterford Crystal vase.’

When Sir Richard saw his priceless vase in pieces he thought he would never see one like it again.

“It was in a trophy cabinet sitting on the top shelf and then when the earthquake struck on the 4th September we heard the mighty crash. We went out into the lounge room and saw the vase shattered into a million pieces and I thought, oh well, that’s something that can never be replaced again.

“However, after making a few enquiries I got some good news that the vase could be replaced”

“For me to get another one and have it presented again is very special - Obviously, it’s a special piece,” Sir Richard said.

Although Sir Richard is grateful to the ICC and FICA for their effort in finding a replacement he acknowledged how he was relatively lucky and mentioned how saddened he was by the fate of fellow Cantabrians who suffered great losses.

“We had fairly limited damage got out virtually scott-free so I’m very mindful of the fact that other people have had severe hardship and losses with houses and contents. It’s going it to take a long time for people to rebuild things,” Sir Richard added.
When asked if he was surprised that the rare piece could be replaced he replied: “I was glad I made the enquiry and was hopeful. I won’t be putting it on the top shelf of the trophy cabinet – I’ve learnt that lesson,” he quipped.

Sir Richard was also the first player to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, a joint venture between the ICC and the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), when he received his commemorative cap from the then ICC President David Morgan at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, in April 2009.

Sir Richard, knighted in 1990, is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the new ball. He was one of the four greatest all-rounders during the 1980s along with Imran Khan of Pakistan, England’s Sir Ian Botham and Kapil Dev of India.

He played 86 Tests from 1973 to 1990 in which he took 431 wickets (at the time a world record), including the wicket of Devon Malcolm off his last ball in Test cricket, and also scored 3,124 runs. In 115 ODIs, he claimed 158 wickets and contributed 1,751 runs.

*ICC Cricket Hall of Fame:

Sydney Barnes, Bishan Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, George Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes, Frank Woolley, Frank Worrell, Herbert Sutcliffe, Steve Waugh, Wasim Akram, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett; Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, Ken Barrington, Rachel Heyhoe-Flint,