From Sir Richard Hadlee to Brendon McCullum: Celebrating New Zealand’s Cricketing Greats

The fastest Test century ever, the first guy to take 400 Test wickets, a hundred hundreds, one of the most successful ladies in World Cup history, and a captain from beginning to end...

The NZC Hall of Fame welcomes you.

Lesley Murdoch, the former WHITE FERN and NZC President, officially launched the inaugural NZC Hall of Fame tonight at the New Zealand Cricket Museum in Wellington. Eleven foundation members whose playing careers cover the years 1947 to 2016 are inducted.

A digital touchscreen displays near life-size portraits of the "First Eleven"—Bert Sutcliffe, John Reid, Jackie Lord, Trish McKelvey, Glenn Turner, Sir Richard Hadlee, Debbie Hockley, Martin Crowe, Emily Drumm, Daniel Vettori, and Brendon McCullum—along with biographical and video content.

The Hall of Fame, a collaboration between NZC, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association, and the New Zealand Cricket Museum, aims to preserve the nation's greatest cricket players so that current players and supporters can connect with their predecessors and experience a sense of identity.

According to the guidelines, entrants must have played for New Zealand and be retired for a minimum of five years. Performance, leadership, and impact are given preference in the selection process. A more lenient rule was that players who were recognized should be of elite quality in their prime, capable of being selected in a hypothetical World XI.

Francis Payne, a cricket historian, statistician, and author who had no colleagues in his field in New Zealand, conducted research and put together a shortlist. It was then put to the test with the help of Trevor Auger, a historian and author of women's cricket in New Zealand, Murdoch, and the NZCPA.

The appeal of the Hall of Fame notion, according to Payne, a longtime co-author of the annual New Zealand Cricket Almanack and several other magazines, including Men in White, is that it is a subjective exercise designed to spark debate.

"The first intake is always the most straightforward because it includes some players who stand out that much and basically pick themselves," Payne said.

"But even during this stage, there will be arguments and discussions about who should or shouldn't be present—and that's pretty much the whole purpose of the exercise, which is to preserve the legends of New Zealand's best players."

Other players, both male and female, were obviously deserving of membership, according to Payne, NZC's official historian. He also emphasized that there will be chances to increase the number of foundation members each year.

“With new players added every year, this is very much a living tribute.”

Murdoch, a sports media host and former New Zealand player who played from 1979 to 1990, said the Hall of Fame was a crucial component of NZC's effort to better honor the valor and sacrifice of its former players.

The aim is to include a nominations panel and a voting academy, which will be predominately composed of former players, who will vote to select new inductees annually now that the project is off the ground and going, she stated.

There will undoubtedly be a lot of conversations as we reflect and discover our whakapapa, and that is the main goal. to protect our cricketing family's heritage.

On the first day of the second Test match between the BLACKCAPS and England at the Cello Basin Reserve, the foundation inductees will be honored on the field during the lunch break.

Throughout the Test, the New Zealand Cricket Museum will be open in the Old Pavilion Stand on the field.

NZC Hall of Fame

Foundation Inductees

Bert Sutcliffe

During the 1949 tour of England, Sutcliffe solidified his status as a top-tier batsman by scoring 2,627 first-class runs, which ranked second only to Sir Donald Bradman in terms of the most runs scored by a visiting player during a tour of England. On Boxing Day, 1953, Sutcliffe played a pivotal role in cricket's most dramatic day at Ellis Park. New Zealand sports legend now includes images of him batting with his head wrapped in bandages after Neil Adcock struck him in the head. When he returned from the hospital that day, he scored 80 runs without being out, including seven sixes. Unsurprisingly, Sutcliffe's undefeated 230 against India in Delhi in 1955 ended up becoming New Zealand's highest Test cricket total. Ten years later, at the age of forty-one, he made his way back to India and struck 151 not out at Kolkata. 

John R Reid

John Reid held the New Zealand Test records for most runs, most wickets, most catches (and also serving as a stand-in wicketkeeper), most matches, and most matches as captain when he retired. At the time, he set a world record with 58 consecutive Test matches. Throughout his 16-year career, Reid never missed a Test. He was a fast seam bowler who subsequently resorted to extremely successful off-cutters. He was also a fierce, hard-hitting middle-order batsman who was not scared to hit the ball in the air. He was also an excellent fielder at gully or cover. In 1955–56, Reid led New Zealand to their eagerly anticipated first Test victory over the West Indies. Reid's 296 against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve in 1962–1963 is among his most well-known innings. It featured 15 sixes, a world record at the time. 

Jackie Lord

Leg-spinner Lord played a key role in New Zealand's maiden series victory against South Africa in the tour that followed, as well as the team that achieved the historic first Test victory against Australia in Melbourne in 1972. During the 1966 tour to England, Lord made her New Zealand debut at the age of 18. She participated in all three Test matches during that tour and all three when England visited New Zealand in 1968–69. With 55 Test match wickets in her career, she is 20 more than New Zealand's next greatest. She is the only bowler to take ten wickets in an innings and has taken five or more wickets in an innings four times, more than anyone else has  Test for New Zealand. .

Trish McKelvey

McKelvey represented New Zealand as captain in all 15 Test matches and 15 One-Day Internationals. She guided New Zealand to its first Test series victory (against South Africa) as well as its first Test victory (against Australia). After serving as Wellington's captain during the previous domestic season, McKelvey was chosen to lead the White Ferns on their 1966 tour of England. Rachael Heyhoe headed a formidable England team that she and New Zealand faced, but the new captain was unblemished in the Tests, with all three matches ending in draws. McKelvey's 155 not out against England at the Basin Reserve in the Test match made her New Zealand's first women's Test centurion in summer of 1968-69.

Glenn Turner

In first-class cricket, Turner amassed 103 hundreds, including seven at the Test level, making his name associated with hundreds. In the West Indies, two of those Test hundreds were double hundreds. At Lancaster Park in 1974, when New Zealand defeated Australia for the first time, Turner became the first player from New Zealand to make a century in each innings of a Test match. Before the end of May 1973, he became the first player in 35 years to reach 1000 first-class runs in England. Turner was equally skilled at one-day cricket, scoring over 10,000 runs in the format and averaging 47 in one-day internationals. In a one-day international, he became the first player to reach 150.

Sir Richard Hadlee

For a large portion of his Test career, Sir Richard Hadlee was among the world's top fast bowlers and the first player to reach 400 wickets. He helped New Zealand win a match. The squad had only won seven Test matches before to his arrival on the field; by the time he retired, he had contributed to 22 more wins. There were several exceptional performances throughout Sir Richard's career, which ended with 431 Test wickets (including a world-record 36 five-wicket bags). However, none was more notable than his 33 wickets in three games during the 1985–86 Test tour of Australia, which included his best-ever nine for 52 at Brisbane.

Debbie Hockley

With four hundreds, seven half-centuries, and a high score of 126 not out against Australia in Auckland, Hockley amassed 1301 runs at 52.04 in 19 Test matches. In 27 ODIs and six Test matches, she captained the New Zealand women's side. In 118 One-Day Internationals, Hockley amassed 4064 runs at 41.89, including four hundreds, thirty-four half-centuries, and a high of 117 against England. He also claimed 54 wickets. She was the first female player to play 100 ODIs and the first to surpass 4,000 ODI runs. In the 1997 tournament in India, Hockley, who is regarded as one of the best players in World Cup history, amassed 1501 runs at 42.88 in 45 games, including consecutive hundreds against Sri Lanka and the West Indies record 456 runs at 76.00.

Martin Crowe

Crowe had very few peers in his heyday, and none at all in New Zealand Test cricket history. Against a West Indies attack that included some of the most formidable fast bowlers in the history of the game, he amassed a career-high 17 hundreds, but none was greater than his 188 in Georgetown in 1985. Crowe was notably removed for 299 against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in 1991 after he and Andrew Jones shared the third-wicket partnership of 467 runs, which at the time was the biggest partnership in Test cricket history. With a mix of unmatched batting and creative captaincy, Crowe led New Zealand to the semi-finals of the 1992 ICC World Cup. He was equally successful in the 50-over format. 

Emily Drumm

After New Zealand defeated Australia by four runs at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval in 2000, Drumm became the first cricketer from New Zealand to captain a World Cup-winning team. Drum participated in five Test matches and scored 161 and 62 not out against Australia in Christchurch and 62 and 112 not out against England in Guildford in the last two games. At the time, she set a New Zealand women's Test record with an undefeated 161 against Australia. Along with playing 100 ODIs for her nation, she twice reached a century and reached fifty on 21 occasions. In March 2006, Drumm played a one-day series against India to end her international career. At the highest level, her last three innings were 94 not out, 83 and 67 not out.

Daniel Vettori

At the age of 18 years and 10 days, Daniel Vettori made his debut against England at the Basin Reserve in 1996–97, making him New Zealand’s youngest Test cricketer. Vettori had taken 305 ODI wickets and 362 Test wickets by the time he left the game, second only bowler Sir Richard Hadlee at the time. Vettori's bowling was impressive right away, but he quickly demonstrated his batting prowess and developed into a superb all-around player on the international scene. His favorite position seems to be number eight, where he hit four of his six Test hundreds and more runs than any other player in Test history.

Brendon McCullum

The skipper, Brendon McCullum, was responsible for pulling New Zealand out of its rut and making it one of the world's top teams by the time he resigned. He played a variety of roles over his career, including hitting the fastest century in Test history (off 54 balls) and New Zealand's first triple century in Test history. Under McCullum's direction, New Zealand went 13 straight home Test matches without losing and made it to the World Cup final for the first time in 2015. The first cricket player to play in 100 straight Test matches after making their debut was McCullum. His encouragement of his players to respect the game, the opposition, and themselves may have been his greatest legacy.