International career Ian Chappell

1 international career

1.1 hesitant start
1.2 promotion number three
1.3 captaincy
1.4 team in own image
1.5 ugly australians
1.6 ashes regained , first world cup
1.7 first retirement

international career

in 1963–64, chappell batted @ number 3 sa first time, in match against queensland @ brisbane, , scored 205 not out. youngest member of sa team won sheffield shield season. century against victoria following season resulted in chappell s selection one-off test against pakistan @ melbourne in december 1964. made 11 , took 4 catches, dropped until fourth test in 1965–66 ashes series. chappell supplemented aggressive batting brilliant fielding in slips, , showed promise leg-spinner. @ point, selectors , captain bob simpson considered him all-rounder: batted @ number 7 , bowled 26 (eight-ball) overs match.

hesitant start

he retained place following test , tour of south africa in summer 1966–67. playing in side defeated 1–3, chappell struggled make impression. highest score in ten test innings 49, while 5 wickets cost 59 runs each. on advice of simpson, ceased playing hook shot leading dismissal. in first test of 1967–68 against india, failed twice batting in middle order. heading second test @ melbourne, chappell s place in jeopardy, rode luck score 151 – innings contained 5 chances indians failed take. however, in remainder of series, managed 46 runs in 4 innings, selection 1968 tour of england based on potential form.

in england, chappell rewarded faith of selectors scoring first-class runs on tour (1,261 runs, including 202 not out against warwickshire), leading australian test aggregates 348 runs (at 43.50). top score 81 in fourth test @ leeds. wisden lauded play off foot , judged him difficult australian batsman dismiss. in summer severely affected rain, australia drew series , retained ashes.

promotion number three

a string of big scores , record number of catches during 1968–69 season earned chappell australian cricketer of year award. against touring west indies, chappell hit 188 not out, 123, 117, 180 , 165 before new year. 2 of these centuries came in test series, when chappell s average 548 runs 68.50. chappell elevated number 3 in batting order , became less-frequent bowler; appointed vice-captain of team.

following successful tour of india in late 1969, chappell demonstrated fluency against spin bowling compiling test innings of 138 @ delhi , 99 @ kolkata. ability against both fast , slow bowling earned high praise, including captain bill lawry. when australians arrived in south africa in 1970, following victory on india, lawry told local media chappell best all-round batsman in world. appraisal looked misguided when chappell managed 92 runs (at 11.5 average), top score of 34, australia lost 0–4.

on tour, chappell clashed cricket administrators on pay , conditions first time. south african authorities requested test added fixture , australian board of control consented. incensed players not consulted change, chappell led group of teammates in demand more money play proposed game. match cancelled after chappell , supporters refused down.

captaincy

ian chappell in 1970s

chappell became south australian captain when long-serving les favell retired @ start of 1970–1971 season. younger brother greg made debut in second test of summer against ray illingworth s england. facing english attack led hostile fast bowling of john snow, chappell scored half-century in each of first 2 tests, failed capitalise on starts while greg chappell scored 108 in initial innings. rain caused abandonment of third test without ball being bowled. temporarily promoted open batting, chappell failed in fourth test australia lost. in fifth test @ melbourne, returned number 3 , started nervously. dropped on 0 , 14, chappell found form , went on post maiden ashes century (111 212 balls), followed scores of 28 , 104 in sixth test.

the washed-out test resulted in late change schedule , unprecedented seventh test played @ sydney in february 1971. trailing 0–1 in series, australia retain ashes winning game. australia s performances hampered playing slow, defensive cricket. in radical attempt breathe aggression team, selectors sacked captain bill lawry , appointed chappell in stead. dismayed manner of lawry s dismissal, chappell responded attacking performance captain, won toss, put england in , dismissed them 184, , australia led first innings 80 runs, set 223 win folded 160 , lost ashes after holding them 12 years. chappell gained consolation @ end of dramatic summer when led sa sheffield shield, team s first win 7 years.

chappell s battles against short-pitched bowling of snow during season compelled him reappraise game. following conversation sir donald bradman, decided reinstate hook shot , spent winter months practising stroke hitting baseballs thrown brother greg. although still regularly lost wicket after playing shot, chappell felt psychological benefit of showing aggression opposing bowlers offset times dismissed low score.

a team in own image

ian chappell fashioned australian team in own image between 1971 , 1975: aggressive, resourceful , insouciant.

australia lost unofficial test series rest of world team led gary sobers toured in 1971–72 replacement politically unacceptable south africans. chappell outstanding batsman of series, 4 centuries included in 634 runs, @ average of 79.25. took team england in 1972 , unlucky not regain ashes in rubber ended 2–2. series began disastrously chappell when out hooking first ball faced in opening test @ manchester. fell same way in second innings , australia lost match. however, team regrouped , had better of remaining matches, apart fourth test @ leeds, played on controversial pitch australians believed doctored suit england team. greg chappell emerged prolific batsman during series, batting 1 place below brother in order. siblings shared several crucial partnerships, notably 201 @ oval in last test when became first brothers score centuries in same test innings. australia won game, effort chappell later cited turning point in team s performances.

in 1972–73, australia had resounding victories against pakistan (at home) , west indies (away). chappell s leadership qualities stood out in number of tight situations. hit highest test score of 196 (from 243 balls) in first test against pakistan @ adelaide. pakistan appeared probable winners of last 2 tests on second last day of each game , yet chappell s team managed win on both occasions.

on indifferent pitches in caribbean, chappell highest-scoring batsman of test series 542 runs (at 77.4 average). hit 209 in tour match against barbados, 2 test centuries , glorious 97 on poor pitch @ trinidad in third test, batting injured ankle. set dramatic last day when west indies needed 66 runs win 6 wickets in hand @ lunch. home team collapsed against inspired australian bowling attack supported chappell s aggressive field-placements. chappell s team last leave west indies winners 22 years.

the ugly australians

australia played 6 tests against new zealand on both sides of tasman in 1973–74. chappell led team 2–0 victory in 3 tests played in australia. during third test @ adelaide, equalled world record of 6 catches in test match fielder, beaten brother greg following season. in drawn first test @ wellington, chappells became first brothers each score century in both innings of test match. australians lost kiwis first time ever in second test @ christchurch, when chappell involved in verbal confrontation leading new zealand batsman, glenn turner. australians played ill-tempered tour match @ dunedin didn t enhance reputation of chappell or team, before winning final test @ auckland. on tour, behaviour of team questioned journalists labelling them ugly australians . in 1976, chappell wrote attitude opposition:

... although didn t deliberately set out bunch of bastards when walked on field, d prefer team captained described nice bunch of blokes on field. captain of australia philosophy simple: between 11.00am , 6.00pm there no time nice guy. believed on field players should concentrate on giving best team, , winning; in other words, playing hard , within rules. mind, doing left no time being nice guy.

the increasing prevalence of verbal confrontation on field (later known sledging) concerned cricket administrators , became regular topic media. instigation attributed chappell. own admission, frequent user of profanity @ boiling point on field, claims various incidents involved in not premeditated tactic. rather, case of him losing temper opponent.

the ashes regained , first world cup

ian chappell s test career batting performance. red bars indicate runs scored in innings, blue line indicating batting average in last ten innings. blue dots indicate innings remained not out.

the highlight of chappell s career australia s 4–1 win on england in 1974–75 reclaimed ashes. strengthened new fast bowling partnership of dennis lillee , jeff thomson, australians played aggressive cricket , received criticism amount of short-pitched bowling employed. chappell scored 90 on unreliable pitch on first day of opening test @ brisbane. finished 6 tests 387 runs @ 35.18 average, , took 11 catches in slips. test matches attracted big crowds , record gate takings, enabling chappell negotiate bonus players australian cricket board (acb). although more doubled players pay, remuneration amounted 4.5% of revenue generated series.

within months, chappell in england leading australia in inaugural world cup. dislike of defensive nature of limited-over cricket led australians placing full slips cordon new ball , employing test-match style tactics in tournament. despite apparent unsuitability of approach, chappell guided team final lost memorable match west indies.

the workload of captaincy telling on chappell , four-test ashes series followed world cup dampened appetite game. after winning completed match of series, first test @ birmingham, australia s retention of ashes anti-climactic: third test @ leeds abandoned due vandalism of pitch during night before last day s play. in last test @ oval, chappell scored 192 367 balls set apparent victory. however, england managed bat 15 hours grind out draw , chappell announced resignation captaincy on final day of match. in 30 tests captain, scored 2,550 runs @ average of 50, 7 centuries.

first retirement

remaining available test cricket, played in 1975–76 series against west indies under captaincy of brother greg. australia avenged loss in world cup final winning 5–1, claiming unofficial title of best team in world. during season, chappell incurred censure behaviour in sheffield shield match , warned not continue wearing pair of adidas boots 3 stripes visible. breached prevailing protocol of cricketers wearing white. highest innings of summer 156 during australia s loss, @ perth in second test. wisden nominated him influential player of series 449 runs @ average of 44.90. throughout course of series, chappell passed 2 significant milestones when became fourth australian make 5,000 runs in test cricket , first player hold 1 hundred test catches australia. summer ended in controversy , triumph in domestic competition. during dispute saca on team selection, threatened strike action sa team. after matter resolved, chappell led side sheffield shield title second time in career , shared inaugural sheffield shield player of season award brother greg. retired first-class cricket @ end of season, aged 32.