Former New Zealand cricketer Sir Richard Hadlee is regarded as one of the best allrounders that the game has ever seen. With his ability to swing the ball, Hadlee left his contemporaries Imran Khan, Kapil Dev,and Sir Ian Botham far behind to have the best bowling average.
Overall, the southpaw took 431 wickets in 86 Tests and smashed 3124 runs. In the shorter format of the game, Hadlee bagged 158 scalps and smoked 1751 runs in 115 matches.
In a recent interview, Hadlee labelled England cricketer Ben Stokes as the best allrounder in the current lot of players. The 69-year-old mentioned that Stokes had single-handedly turned games for his side. Hadlee also gave a special mention to Ravindra Jadeja, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jason Holder.
“Today, when I look at allrounders, Ben Stokes stands out as number one-he is a competitor, a quality batsman and handy bowler who has single-handedly won games for England. Ravindra Jadeja, Shakib Al Hasan, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Jason Holder are all worthy in their own right,” Hadlee told Times of India.
Recollecting his invaluable memories of the game, the Christchurch-born admitted though there was a tough competition among his peers to be the best allrounder of the sport, yet mutual respect existed for each other.
“The battle of the allrounder’s in the ’70s and ’80s was a special time. We all competed against each other and there was a strong desire and determination to succeed. My role in the team was to out-form Imy, Beefy or Kaps. Whilst there was tremendous rivalry between the four of us, there was also mutual respect,” Hadlee concluded.
Meanwhile, Stokes was rested from the recently announced squad for the two red ball games against New Zealand scheduled to be played in England.
