Cricketing legend Walter Hadlee dies

Walter Hadlee, pictured in 2001, has died aged 91. File picture / Paul Estcourt

Former New Zealand cricket captain Walter Hadlee has died at the age of 91.

The patriarch of the Hadlee cricketing dynasty had been in Princess Margaret Hospital in Christchurch.

Hadlee played 11 tests for New Zealand before and after World War II. He captained the side in the late 1940s and was later the convener of selectors for the national team.

His sons, Sir Richard, Dayle and Barry all played for the Black Caps.

Hadlee, who was born in 1915, was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

He was regarded as a productive and aggressive batsman for New Zealand and toured England in 1937 and 1949.

He captained the 1949 team which was regarded as one of the greatest New Zealand has produced.

The Forty-Niners drew the test series and lost just one match on tour.

Over 75 years he was at times at the forefront as a player, captain, selector and manager of New Zealand teams. He achieved equal eminence as a national and international cricket administrator.

Hadlee, a chartered accountant, had some other characteristics, including a remarkable memory for facts and figures.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZHERALD STAFF