Cricket: Hadlee hails impact of King Khan

Richard Hadlee has declared Pakistan's Imran Khan the greatest allrounder of his era.

In the week Ian Botham turned 50, Hadlee gave an interview at Lord's describing the respect the four great allrounders of the era - Hadlee, Khan, Botham and Kapil Dev - had for each other as extraordinary.

"When you were in a different part of the world, you'd always look in the paper to see what's Botham doing? What's Imran doing? What's Kapil doing?" Hadlee said.

"We were all aware of who was getting runs or wickets - all those sorts of things made the era special."

Hadlee believed he was the best of the allrounders at bowling but the weakest batsman. Day in, day out, he thought Khan was the finest.

"He was a potent strike bowler and as a batsman he could bat anywhere in the top four, let alone the top six, and play any type of innings.

"When it was a defensive innings, he was pretty hard to get out. When it was an attacking innings he could hit the ball to the boundary."

Hadlee, whose 431 test wickets was for some time the world record, said Andrew Flintoff had some way to go before he joined the elite group of allrounders, including Keith Miller and Gary Sobers.

"People are saying 'Is he the next Ian Botham?'," he said. "I don't think there will be another Ian Botham.

"But the signs are definitely encouraging. He can bat in the top six and strike the ball to and over the boundary. He plays positively and aggressively and has certainly come on as a bowler. He bowls a heavy ball and hits the bat harder than you think. He's also aggressive.

"We will see over the next few years if he is able to do it in all sorts of conditions."

- HERALD ON SUNDAY