Wish I'd Done That

Jason Gillespie: 'To get nine wickets in an innings, I had never seen anything like that'

The former Australia fast bowler looks back at an innings he wishes he'd played: Richard Hadlee's blistering nine-wicket spell at the Gabba in 1985

As told to Nagraj Gollapudi  |  June 2, 2021

Richard Hadlee became only the tenth player to take nine wickets in an innings

Richard Hadlee became only the tenth player to take nine wickets in an innings © Getty Images

Richard Hadlee: 9 for 52 vs Australia, Brisbane, 1985

The '80s was the decade of allrounders: Imran Khan, Sir Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, and to a lesser extent Malcolm Marshall, who was known more as a bowler. But it was a wonderful time to enjoy fast bowling.

I had just moved to Adelaide and remember watching the Brisbane Test in 1985 on TV. It did not take much time for Hadlee to stamp his authority on the match. It was such a standout, dominant performance, even for the ten-year-old me: to get nine wickets in an innings, I had never seen anything like that.

It was just that the discipline with line and length was so telling. Hadlee was known for being the master of line and length. He got Andrew Hilditch hooking, but the one I remember was Greg Matthews playing on - he was half-forward and trying to hit to cover but he just dragged onto his stumps.

Incredibly Hadlee was 34 years old then, and still carried the New Zealand attack, bowling long spells. But he was always open to learning and improvising. I vaguely remember a story about New Zealand coach Glenn Turner putting a dustbin where an umpire stands to help Hadlee deliver from closer to the stumps to straighten his line. It did encourage him to get closer to the stumps.

Around that time he had worked on his run-up too. I remember Hadlee, who played for Nottinghamshire for a long time, once talking about it in an interview - how he had shortened his run-up and actually become more efficient in his bowling. He just found he could get more rhythm while still bowling at high pace.

And that is what he did to dominate Australia at the Gabba. I did not know at the time it was New Zealand's first Test victory in Australia. It is one of my favorite bowling performances that I have watched on YouTube frequently. I have met Sir Richard briefly, but had a quiet chat. Always respected his bowling from afar.

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo

 

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