Sir Richard Hadlee has embarked on another cricket tour - only this time he isn't out in the middle.
The man known as Paddles has worked scrupulously for the last four years to bring the details of the diary kept by his late father Walter Hadlee to life from the successful 1949 tour of war-torn England.
Sir Richard is travelling the country promoting The Skipper's Diary, which documents the day-to-day experiences of the eight-month trip.
He makes his stop in Whangarei on Thursday evening at Cobham Oval, launching his book at the ground.
There are about 6000 copies, which aren't available in retail shops, with 119 limited edition leather bound books, symbolising Walter's highest first class score on tour.
Three charities will be supported with a donation from proceeds of the book sales, including the New Zealand Cricket Museum, the Cricket Live Foundation, where underprivileged street children in Sri Lanka and India learn life skills through cricket, and the New Zealand Cricket Players' Association Cricketers' Trust.
Sir Richard will be in town on Thursday night from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.