28 Facts you need to now about Ian Chappell - A man of his words

28 Facts you need to now about Ian Chappell – A man of his words: Ian Chappell symbolized courage, and fearlessness both on and off the field. He not only faced the most fearsome of fast bowlers during his playing days but also had the guts to speak his mind about Don Bradman and Kerry Packer. It would have been very easy for him to trade-off his status as a sporting legend for the rest of his life, considering his great career. But Chappell chose to stand up for the reasonable and outrightly condemned the unethical aspects of the game. A trenchant and honest television commentator round the world nowadays, he is one of the very few who talks more sense and less fantasy.

On his 72^nd birthday we list 28 Facts you need to now about Ian Chappell – A man of his words:

1. How it began 

The first of three sons born in Adelaide to Martin and Jeanne, Ian was steeped in the game from an early age. His father was a noted Adelaide grade cricketer who put a bat in his hands as soon as he could walk. His maternal grandfather Vic Richardson was a famous all-round sportsman, who also captained Australia in a short 19 Test career.

2. Cricket in the blood

Ian Chappell is the eldest of his three brothers. The other two Greg and Trevor also went on to play for Australia with the former doing it with some distinction.

3. First class debut

At the age of 18, his form in grade cricket for Glenelg led to his first-class debut for South Australia (SA) against Tasmania in early 1962. Ian Chappell replaced West Indian Gary Sobers in the side.

4. A great knock

In 1963–64, Ian Chappell batted at number three for South Australia for the first time, in a match against Queensland at Brisbane, and scored 205 not out. He was the youngest member of the team that won the Sheffield Shield that season.

5. The Test debut

Courtsey a fine century against Victoria in the 1964 season, he earned his earned his first Test cap against Pakistan In Melbourne. Though he made only 11 runs, the 4 catches he took were a sight to behold. He was though dropped from the side till the 1965-66 Ashes.

6. The return

Ian Chappell supplemented his aggressive batting with brilliant fielding in the slips and showed his potence as a leg spinner. This earned him a Test recall in the 4^th Test of the 1965-66 Ashes where he bowled an amazing 26 overs (8 balls each).

7. 1968 England tour

Despite failing against South Africa and India the selectors decided to include him for the England tour on potential. Ian Chappell rewarded the faith of the selectors by scoring the most first-class runs on the tour (1,261 runs, including 202 not out against Warwickshire), leading the Australian Test aggregates with 348 runs (at 43.50)

8. Recognition for performance

A string of big scores and a record number of catches during the 1968–69 season earned Ian Chappell the Australian Cricketer of the Year award.

9. The start of something significant

Against the touring West Indies, Ian Chappell hit 188 not out, 123, 117, 180 and 165 in the Australian summer of 1969. Two of these centuries came in the Test series, when Chappell’s average for 548 runs was 68.50. He was elevated to number three in the batting order and became a less-frequent bowler; he was also appointed vice-captain of the team.

10. The start of the clashes

On the South African tour of 1970, Ian Chappell clashed with cricket administrators over pay and conditions for the first time. He led a group of his teammates in a demand for more money to play the proposed extra game which was not originally in the itinerary. Eventually the match was cancelled after Ian Chappell and his supporters refused to back down.

11. Equally good against Spin

In a successful tour of India in late 1969, Ian Chappell demonstrated his fluency against spin bowling by compiling Test innings of 138 at Delhi and 99 at Kolkata. His ability against both fast and slow bowling earned high praise, including from his captain Bill Lawry.

12. Captiancy

Ian Chappell inherited the captaincy of the Australian side from Bill Lawry in 1971, at a time when the Aussies were 0-1 down in the Ashes series.

13. A man of his own

Though Australia lost the final Test of the 1971 Ashes despite taking a lead, thanks to a 4th innings collapse, Ian Chappell demonstrated an attitude which reflected serious professionalism and shaped the way Australia started playing Test cricket.

Also Read – Unbreakable Records In Test Cricket

14. Fantastic

Throughout his captaincy regime from 1971-75, Australia never lost a series and the Ian-Greg Chappell brothers emerged as a strong force of the batting line-up. Under him, Australia regained the Ashes in 1974-75 and also reached the finals of the first ever Cricket World Cup held in England.

15. Too much to handle

Following a heavy workload and regular tussles with the board, Ian Chappell relinquished his captaincy and retired at the age of 32 in 1975-76 after winning the Sheffield Shield Player of the season.

16. World Series cricket

He later played an important role in the World Series Cricket, as the captain of the Australian XI and also as a brand ambassador who influenced many cricketers to join the league.

17. The controversy with Tony Greig

After losing a winner-takes-all final Super Test series and Limited Overs competition in the WSC, Ian Chappell took out his ire on Tony Greig by refusing to shake his hand in the post-match presentation.

18. Well Done

Ian Chappell was the first Australian to take one hundred catches which was a phenomenal achievement.

19. Retirement

Although Ian Chappell was picked to play the last 3 Tests against England in the 1980 series, he retired at the end of that season. He was also handed a three-week suspension for offensive behavior on the field.

20. First class numbers

In the 262 first-class matches he played for South Australia, Ian Chappell scored 19,680 runs, including 59 centuries, at 48.35, took 176 wickets and held 312 catches.

21. Test record

Ian Chappell scored 5,345 runs at 42.42 in his 75 Test appearances, including 14 centuries, with a highest score of 196 against Pakistan in Adelaide in 1972. In Tests, his leg spinners returned him 20 wickets and his safe slips hands 105 catches.

22. Commendable

In the Australia v Rest of the World series in Australia in 1971-72 – matches that were not classified as Tests – Ian Chappell was the leading run scorer with 634 runs at 79.25, including four centuries.

23. The attributes

Predominantly a right-handed batsman who could bowl a bit of leg spin, Ian Chappell was known for his nonchalance while hooking and pulling short balls in an era where the batsmen
shunned helmets.

24. Post retirement ventures

After retirement, Ian Chappell pursued a lucrative career in commentary and sports journalism. He continues to write columns which are known to be opinionated and at times, very blunt.

25. The relationship with Sir Don Bradman

He had a tumultuous relationship with the greatest cricketer ever – Don Bradman. Problems started when Chappell believed that the Australian cricketers should be paid more than what they were getting and Bradman being the Board president would hear none of it. Things came to such a point that Chappell once walked into a meeting with the Don with a can of beer in his hands as an insult.

26. He Was Once Caught Abusing On Air

This is a rather embarrassing chapter from his life. During one of the sport stalk show anchored by him on Channel Nine, Ian Chappell did not realize that the camera had started rolling and was caught hurling abuses at someone. The programme was taken off air and the cricketer had to issue a statement of apology.

27. He loves to travel

Ian Chappell’s love for travelling and exploring new countries like most sportsmen is not surprising. His favourite holiday spot is the Caribbean where he went many times as a player and commentator.

28. The refusal to BCCI

Ian Chappell famously refused a commentary proposal from the Star TV for the India versus Australia series in 2013. The reason he gave was the contract being too dictatorial and not allowing him the freedom of expression.