Cricket: We'll consult talent, pledges selector head Hadlee

By RICHARD BOOCK

Sir Richard Hadlee is promising an open-door policy in his new role as New Zealand Cricket's convener of selectors.

The country's greatest fast bowler will join dual international Brian McKechnie, former convener Ross Dykes and coach David Trist in an enlarged panel, which will soon select a national squad to tour Singapore, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The appointment of Hadlee and McKechnie, announced yesterday, has addressed the dearth of international experience on the panel, and the retention of Dykes is seen as a vote for continuity and stability.

Hadlee, aged 48, retired from test cricket a decade ago with 431 wickets to his credit, but said from London last night that he had remained involved and interested in New Zealand's international campaign.

"It's important to use the talents around you and to that end I'm determined to include everyone I can," he said.

"I intend talking to people such as Mike Gatting [former England captain and selector] and Clive Rice and Mike Proctor [South African selectors] in order to gain as much advice and information as possible.

"And on the home front, I think it's important to stay in touch with guys such as Jeremy Coney, Ian Smith and Martin Crowe - people who not only know their cricket, but care about it."

Hadlee is confident of his ability to identify talent and the desired strain of mental toughness.

Involved in commentating for nine of his 10 "retirement years," he was left on the sideline last season after a change of television rights, and said the experience of watching from a detached viewpoint had left him primed for a comeback as a selector.

"It probably did me the world of good. It was good to sit back on the sideline. You see different things and find yourself pondering different strategies and tactics.

"But this panel will certainly not be a one-man band. It will be a team effort."

McKechnie, who seems to have edged out Mark Greatbatch for a berth on the panel, played 14 one-day internationals and was the convener of selectors for Canterbury's highly successful Shell Series side. The former All Black chaired it for five years before taking last season off.

The panel has been appointed for two years.