February 2, 1973.

Richard Hadlee saw his first ball in Test cricket dispatched to the fence by Sadiq Mohammad. 2 for 112 was not quite announcing himself with aplomb. He did hit a quickfire 46, but for the next two Tests the Kiwi selectors opted for brother Dayle.

However, soon the world would get used to the brooding, forlorn figure running in and beating the bat again and again. It would be followed by that typical Hadlee appeal, limbs spread outwards in an animated ‘X’, approximating the Vitruvian Man.

He was around for 86 Tests. 431 wickets at 22.29 marked him as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Add to that 3124 runs at 27.16.

Often he carried a dossier, diligently noting down the number of runs and wickets remaining for the goals he had set himself.

Hadlee was a phenomenon — one of a kind, and will perhaps never be repeated. A man who took amateurish Kiwi cricket by the scruff of the neck and hauled it into the realms of professionalism. No other man has ever single-handedly transformed the fortune of any side.

It was quite apt that his appeal resembled the posture of the Viruvian Man.

Text: Arunabha Sengupta

Illustration: Maha