Top 5 bowling performances by Sir Richard Hadlee in Test cricket

#4 11-102 vs West Indies at Dunedin, 1980

Hadlee’s bowling in both innings got the better of the mighty Windies’ batting

It was the opening test of the mighty West Indies’ tour of New Zealand in the 1979-1980. West Indies were without Sir Viv Richards and Andy Roberts but still had the likes of Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Alvin Kallicharan in addition to Michael Holding and Joel Garner in their bowling attack. Captain Clive Lloyd elected to bat first after winning the toss and West Indies were under pressure right from the beginning as the talismanic Hadlee dismissed the dangerous Gordon Greenidge for just 2 before capturing Lawrence Rowe and Alvin Kallicharan for 1 and a duck respectively to keep the Windies struggling at 4/3.Desmond Haynes and captain Clive Lloyd were looking to destabilize the batting and had put up 68 for the fourth wicket before Hadlee dismissed Lloyd for 24. Hadlee eventually captured five wickets for 34 runs and the visitors were skittled out for 140. New Zealand scored 249 runs in their first innings thanks to half-centuries from Bruce Edgar and Hadlee who scored a swift 51 in the twilight of New Zealand’s innings. Hadlee once again produced a scintillating bowling performance as West Indies were bowled out for 212 with Hadlee taking six wickets for 68. New Zealand were given a target of 104 to chase in the fourth innings and somehow scraped through, winning by one wicket thanks to some crucial lower-order chippings by Hadlee and Lance Cairns.