Email: [email protected]
Call us: 01727761677
Email: [email protected]
Call us: 01727761677
We are extremely excited about the release of The Skipper’s Diary – the new book by Kiwi cricketing legend Sir Richard Hadlee, distributed exclusively by Motilal Books from 2nd October 2019. Sir Richard “Paddles” Hadlee is one of New Zealand’s most famous cricketing exports, recognised as one of the best test match bowlers and all rounders of all time. In a 17 year career spanning 1973 to 1990, Sir Richard took 431 wickets, which was the world record at the time.
The Skipper’s Diary, however, focuses not on Sir Richard’s career but on that of his father, the equally legendary Walter Hadlee. Walter, who died in 2006, was a former captain of the New Zealand Cricket Team and led the side during the team’s 1949 test match tour of England. This was the cricketing season that bought the Kiwis from relative obscurity – having never won a test match – to the heart of the international scene, a position they retain to this day.
The Skipper’s Diary tells the full story of the ‘Forty-Niners’, drawing from the diary of Walter Hadlee, in-depth interviews with five players, plus several former coaches and cricket historians.
The result is a touching, funny and evocative narrative, vividly recalling the excitement of the summer of ‘49, and the great achievements of the New Zealand cricket team. In his signature style, Sir Richard weaves together jokes, anecdotes, photographs, and memoirs into an unmissable icon of cricketing history.
The Skipper’s Diary is available for £29.99 in hardback from all good UK book shops and online sellers including Amazon UK and Amazon US.
You can read more on Sir Richard Hadlee’s cricketing thoughts in his latest interview with The Cricketer. ‘Remember in our day we were amateurs,’ he told the magazine. ‘It wasn’t until the 1980s that I become a professional… In the 1990s players started becoming semi-professional, and only in the 2000s did players devote enough time to training.’
The new release also touches on New Zealand’s recent World Cup defeat. ‘We were unlucky, but we are not controversial, we are not confrontational. Yes we can compete, yes we want to win, but if there’s a spirit of cricket award, we’d win it every time.’
Pick up your copy of The Cricketer to read the full interview!
The Skipper’s Diary is set to be a classic of cricketing literature, and we expect it to sell very well. To secure copies for your bookshop, please call 01727 761677 today, or email [email protected].