It's extremely rare for a cricket bowler to take all ten wickets. Up until this historic date, Jim Laker was the only man to achieve this feat. Legendary New Zealander all-rounder, Sir Richard Hadlee, could've reached it but chose not to.
Richard Hadlee was nearing the peak of his powers during the mid-80s. Before New Zealand's tour of Australia at the end of 1985, Hadlee had taken 266 wickets at 23.83, as well as averaging 24.85 with the bat. Instrumental in New Zealand's first series win over England in 1983/84, the all-rounder now had his sights set on Allan Border's struggling Australian team.
Hit by defections to South African rebel tours, Border had seen his team lose the Ashes 3-1 in England and the task of turning the Australian ship around was looking more and more difficult by the day. His opposite number didn't face such concerns.
Taking over from Geoff Howarth, Jeremy Coney not only had Hadlee leading his bowling attack but he also had another world-class component in his batting line up. Martin Crowe would add to his growing reputation during the first Test in Brisbane. In fact, he would outscore Australia on his own after a stunning display from Hadlee.
Coney had captained the team before - two losses and a draw in Pakistan - but the first thing he did successfully as permanent skipper was to win the toss. With a greenish pitch and cloud cover, inserting the opposition was the obvious choice. When Coney called correctly, Australia were about to face the ultimate test.
Andrew Hilditch didn't help the cause. Repeatedly out hooking during the tour to England, New Zealand hardly needed extensive video research to formulate a plan to the Australian opener. Just five balls into the innings, Hadlee fed the hook and Ewan Chatfield took a catch that must've left Australian cricket fans unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.
Kepler Wessels and David Boon steadied the innings but when Hadlee dismissed the latter just before lunch and then removed Border and Greg Ritchie after the interval; Australia were 82-4. It took an unbroken stand of 69 between Wessels and wicket-keeper, Wayne Phillips, to restore parity.
When bad light brought an end to day one, Australia had reached 146/4, with Hadlee taking 4/35. The unbeaten fifth wicket stand of 64 had provided encouragement, yet the next two days would be a complete nightmare for Australia. And at one point it looked as if Hadlee would be joining Laker in the record books.
Removing Wessels, Greg Matthews, Phillips and Craig McDermott, Hadlee had taken all eight wickets to fall as Australia folded to 175-8. Any secret hopes he had of finishing with ten wickets were denied by his own hands.
When Geoff Lawson attempted to slog off-spinner Vaughan Brown through midwicket, the ball went skywards and Hadlee found himself presented with the opportunity to thwart his place in history. Taking a good running catch, Hadlee later revealed that there was no way he was going to deliberately drop the ball.
"Some people have often said to me, 'Why didn't you drop it?'" Hadlee told Richie Benaud in an interview about that match. "And I say, 'Well the game of cricket is not like that, you take every chance that you can.'"
The wicket was not only significant for Hadlee. Making his debut, Brown would only play one more Test in his career. This dismissal of Lawson turned out be his only wicket in Test match cricket. With Dave Gilbert at the other end and only Bob Holland to come, Hadlee's catch revealed the professional and selfless nature of the man.
Hadlee removed Holland as Australia were dismissed for 179, the last six wickets falling for just 33 runs. Finishing with figures of 23.4-4-52-9, Hadlee's return was the fourth best in a Test match innings behind Jim Laker (10/53 and 9/37) and George Lohmann (9/28). It set New Zealand on the road to their first victory in Australia.
A fine innings of 188 from Crowe and 108 from John Reid, helped to confirm New Zealand's dominant position. Hadlee rubbed salt into the wounds with a 45-ball 54 that included three sixes. With useful contributions from John Wright, Brown and Jeff Crowe, Coney was able to declare on the morning of day four.
New Zealand's 553-7 declared gave them a first innings lead of 374 and despite resistance from Border (152*) and Matthews' maiden Test century, the result was never in question. Chatfield took two early wickets and Hadlee added another couple - you'll never guess how he dismissed Hilditch - as Australia initially slumped to 67-5.
It would be Hadlee that broke the stubborn sixth wicket stand of 197. Removing Matthews just before the end of day four, any lingering doubts were put to bed. Although New Zealand took two hours to take the last four wickets to win the match, fittingly it would be Hadlee that provided the winning moment when he bowled Holland.
Hadlee took 6-71, ending the match with figures of 15-123, the eighth best Test match return at the time. Henry Calthorpe, writing in the Observer, indicated the problems facing Australia. "His control was superb, he swung the ball away sharply from the right-hander, moved it both ways off the seam and with his whippy action found uncomfortable lift." He still had more to come.
Not only was the innings and 41 runs Test victory the first by a New Zealand team in Australia, it would also be part of a series win against their rivals. Australia did come back to win the next Test in Sydney but Hadlee took 11-155 in Perth to inspire New Zealand to a 2-1 win. His 33 wickets at 12.15 made choosing a man of the series a simple task.
When the New Zealand cricket team bus turned in from Stanley St on a grey, humid morning on 8 November 1985, in Hadlee's words, there was no hint of anything remarkable afoot. "Nothing out of the ordinary at all."
Hadlee was hardly bowling the house down. The previous week, he'd taken one wicket from 41 overs against Queensland on the same ground and by his stellar benchmark; was struggling. He was too wide on the crease. Coach, Glenn Turner, had stood as umpire in the practice nets and later replaced himself with a plastic bin stationed six paces back to enable Hadlee to get in close and bowl wicket to wicket.
What followed, after captain, Jeremy Coney, called correctly and Hadlee selected a beautiful dark red Kookaburra from a box, was the greatest performance by a New Zealand cricketer. His innings figures of 23.4-4-52-9 were the fourth-best in test history and has only slipped two places on the charts after spinners Anil Kumble (10-74) and Muttiah Muralitharan (9-51) nudged past. Hadlee's figures remain the best by a fast bowler in a test innings since England's George Lohmann in 1896.
"It was ideal for swing/seam bowling. It was very humid, the ball moved around in the air and off the pitch and psychologically to get early wickets you feel as if you're on top and you can start dictating and dominating. I bowled well, no question, but on other occasions I probably bowled just as well with less reward. That's the nature of sport."
The highlights reel is a treat; superb bowling, ambitious/clueless shots and brilliant catching behind the wicket in the cordon. "He has got good hands," boomed commentator, Tony Greig, of Coney. There was also Bill Lawry, high decibel and even higher excitement.
Hadlee described it as a fairytale. He took six in the second innings for match figures of 15-123, but credited the team performance in the innings victory; centuries from Martin Crowe and John Reid, brilliant catching including his mate Ewen Chatfield twice grabbing Australia's "happy hooker," Andrew Hilditch.
"It'll always be there, as long as I can remember. It was my greatest moment, my greatest cricket match for an all-round performance."
Edgar, who swears he had a premonition of Border slashing at the first ball after lunch and offering a catch, said the Australian batsmen were mesmerised by the "quiet assassin".
"It wasn't a bumper attack but the ball was talking. Richard had it on a string and they didn't know what was coming. He didn't bowl short, he kept the ball up and swung it and got something off the track as well. He was just unplayable."
Even the weather played ball, with rain breaks keeping Hadlee fresh and enabling him to charge in for short, sharp spells. Australia were 146-4 after day one, then lost their last six wickets for 31. Hadlee could have matched England spinner Jim Laker as the only test 10-for, but for a rush of blood from Geoff Lawson after Hadlee snared the first eight Australian wickets.
Lawson jokingly wears it as a badge of honour. "I was the only one who didn't get out to him but I got caught by him; trying to slog Vaughan Brown over long on and hit it pretty poorly. It was a filthy slog. And the fact that Paddles caught it; he could have dropped it and tried to get all 10. He had to run to his right a fair bit, it was a pretty good catch."
The running grab over his shoulder gave Hadlee's Canterbury team-mate Brown, on debut, his only Test wicket. Brown returned the favour by catching Bob Holland at short leg to complete the 9-52.
Lawson said it was extremely rare to be beaten by one man. There was no shell shock, Border's Aussies simply tipped their baggy green caps to a remarkable performance on a pitch tailor-made for Hadlee. Lawson saw two spells to match it: a fearsome Michael Holding at Perth in 1984 - "he bowled about 169kmh" - and Dennis Lillee against the West Indies in Melbourne.
"Hadlee didn't scare you with pace, he was just too good for you. Facing [Malcolm] Marshall or [Michael] Holding it was scary stuff, but Hadlee was intimidating because he was going to get you out all the time. It was a virtuoso performance. He was quick enough, hit the seam, unrelenting and people eventually just nicked him. He bowled that length that was so hard to drive but it was always in the danger area. Just superb."
Hadlee still has that magic ball, battered and 76.4 overs old. It's displayed at his home on the outskirts of Christchurch, nestling in a mould of his hand, fingers gripping the seam. He's 64 now and three years on from hip and knee replacements, still playing regular golf but slightly irked his handicap is no lower than 12.
This proves that cricket is a gentlemen's game. There's room for selfish behaviour. Everyone deserves a chance at success in some form in the game. A shot at history is a rareity but that shouldn't come in the way of a team sport.