Ian Chappell

Ian Michael Chappell was the elder brother of Greg Chappell. Ian was the captain of the Australian team from 1971 till 1975. Besides Australia, he has also played for South Australia. Ian was a right-handed middle-order batsman when he started playing but found his capabilities mature when he was allowed to bat at the number three position. Ian had a strong hold on square cut, drive and hook shots. Along with these, Ian has also mastered himself in spin-bowling and slip-fielding. Ian is fourth in number to take a hundred test catches.

While studying for Prince Alfred College, Ian developed interests in baseball as well as Australian football along with cricket being his primary choice. Ian made his debut for South Australia in 1962 owing to a notable form in grade cricket for Glenelg.

Ian scored an unbeaten 205 on the wicket against Queensland while playing for South Australia in 1963-64. He also achieved a century while playing against Victoria in the next season. These remarkable forms did not go unnoticed and he was selected for a Test match against Pakistan in 1964. Ian developed his skills in slip-fielding and was an exceptional leg-spinner, all this while being a profound batsman in the top-order.

The early years of his play were a mix of highs and lows as he struggled to get a firm foothold on the batting front. Ian was a favored player at the first-class matches by scoring a total of 19,680 runs from 262 matches and an excellent batting average of 48.35.

Ian was named the captain for the South Australia team in 1970. Australia won the Ashes series played in 1974-75 under the strong leadership of Ian. Australia won the unofficial title of the best team in the world after winning a series against West Indies in 1975-76. Ian retired from first class cricket at the age of 32.

In 1976, Ian landed as the captain for the Australian team in World Series Cricket (WSC) by signing a 3 year contract. The WSC debut series in 1977-78 saw Ian hit his first SuperTest century and helped him finish fifth in overall averages. Near his retirement from test cricket, Ian again captained South Australia in 1979-80.

Career Highlights

Ian was named Cricketer of year by Australia in 1969.

Wisden honored him with the Cricketers of the Year in 1976.

Ian has scored 5,000 runs in test cricket, thus becoming the fourth Australian player to achieve the feat. After retirement, Ian began his career as a radio commentator. He also lend his articles to “The Age”. He was a commentator for BBC and 0-10 Network. Ian co-hosted “Sports Sunday” and its sister show “Wide World of Sport” along with Mike Gibson.

He is also the first player to obtain 100 test catches for Australia.

ABC featured a documentary on Ian, named “The Chappell era” in 2002.

Ian was commemorated to the FICA Cricket Hall of Fame in 2000.He was also introduced to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1986.