In cricket, as in other sports, retirement usually means hanging up one’s playing boots. There comes a day when every sportsperson feels that the time has come to bid adieu to the sport that was the focus of his or her entire life till then. That is not an easy decision, and only a few can claim to have timed this to perfection.

It is only seldom that one comes across a cricketer who has retired three times, twice during his playing days and a third time, when he severed his connections with the game completely by quitting from commenting on the sport and getting them right on all occasions. Ian Chappell, the former Australian captain who later became one of the top columnists of the game, can claim credit for being one of the few sportspersons who successfully achieved these distinctions.

Born in 1943, Ian survived an indifferent start to his Test career and blossomed into an attacking batsman who was never afraid to take the bowlers head-on. He moved up the batting order to the critical No 3 position and retained that spot till he left the game. He was appointed the captain of the Australian side for the final Test of the 1970-71 Ashes series. Though his captaincy started on a losing note, he soon moulded the Aussies into a fighting unit that emerged as the top side in contemporary cricket.

His irreverent attitude towards the administrators and the powers that be, his encouragement of the habit of “sledging”  players from the opposing sides, and his win-at-all-cost attitude earned his side the sobriquet of “ugly Aussies.” He stepped down from captaincy at the end of the series against England in 1975 and retired from first-class cricket a year later.

However, he was contracted by Kerry Packer when the media mogul started the World Series Cricket (WSC) as a parallel to the traditional cricket played under the cricket establishments. As a supporter of the fight to increase players’ remuneration, Ian saw this as a golden opportunity to earn some money and ensure that cricketers were paid better for their efforts. He led the Australia side with elan throughout this championship, when they had to take on the mighty West Indies side with its pack of four fast bowlers- Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner- in super tests played in the Caribbean island. After the WSC was wound up following a truce between the Australian Cricket Board and Kerry Packer, Ian played Test matches for one more season and retired for a second time in 1980.

After his retirement, Ian turned to comment about the game – both from the commentary box and through his columns. His observations about the game were crisp and sharp and he never believed in mincing his words. There was absolutely no element of bias in favour of either members of his family or towards his national side. He called a spade a spade and spoke his mind out, loud and clear. This did not win him many friends among players, but he did not let this affect him. His popularity with the game’s followers was such that TV channels and print media editors retained his services and gave him a completely free hand.

Ian is still reckoned as one of the finest captains this game has seen. His success was in moulding a side that reflected his personality and attitude towards the game. He managed this by winning complete respect and unstinted cooperation from his players. He set a tremendous personal example and always stood by his word. He also had a unique ability to challenge players and bring out their best. But he did not hesitate to crack the whip and read out the riot act when required. Two widely quoted examples that reflect his leadership abilities are worth recounting.

When Ian became skipper he told the side during a meeting that the doors of his room would be open till 3 AM for any player who wished to meet and discuss any aspect of the game. One night, a group of players, including Dennis Lillee and Doug Walters, had a long drinking session that went late into the night. As the group dispersed for catching some sleep at 2.45 AM, Walters suddenly said,

“I need to meet the skipper to discuss something.”

“What is it that cannot wait till tomorrow morning? Why do you want to disturb him now?”, Lillee asked.

“Skipper said that one can meet him till 3. So I am using that privilege.”

Saying this, Walters went and knocked on the door of Ian, even as others watched from a distance. Lillee noted with admiration that Ian greeted Walters, took him inside the room and listened to whatever the latter wished to say patiently. This was Ian staying true to his word, whatever the situation.

During the WSC matches, Ian once found that fast bowler Len Pascoe was taking the training sessions and nets casually. After Pascoe showed no signs of changing his attitude despite a couple of warnings, Ian decided to act. He deliberately left out the helmet, which had by then become an integral part of batters’ attire while facing fast bowlers, when he took guard in the nets while facing Pascoe to taunt the bowler. This fired up Pascoe, who marked out his full run up and came tearing down to bowl at full pace at Ian. But such was Ian’s confidence and technical acumen that he managed to play out the full 20-minute net session without getting struck by the ball even once. Pascoe’s respect for Ian went up by a couple of notches after this incident. So much so that, later, when Geoff Lawson made an allegation in his book that the Chappell brothers used to rile Pascoe about his ethnicity (he was born in Yugoslavia), he took the stand and stated under oath that this was not true.

As a commentator and columnist, Ian’s observations were often scathing. His brother Greg was at the receiving end after the latter asked their brother Trevor to deliver the ball underarm when New Zealand needed six runs to “tie” a One Day International against Australia with one ball remaining. Though what Greg did was within the laws of the game as it stood then, it drew wide criticism. Ian’s instinctive reaction from the commentary box “ No Greg, no, you cannot do that”, was followed by a more caustic statement “Fair dinkum Greg, how much pride do you sacrifice to win 35,000 Dollars?”. This summed up the emotions of followers of the sport, who were shocked by the action of Greg, which went against the traditions and spirit of cricket.

Ian was highly critical of Kim Hughes, who was appointed to lead Australia after Greg, since he believed earnestly that the job should have gone to Rodney Marsh. Ian found fault with everything Hughes did as captain and was rightly blamed for his early and tearful exit from this post. This did not mean that he was sympathetic towards Allan Border, whom he blamed for allowing Bob Simpson to gain the upper hand as the coach. He also criticised Steve Waugh, one of the most successful skippers of the Australian side, as being too selfish. Ian also remains one of the very few cricketers to have criticised the legendary Don Bradman. “I loved his cricketing brain but I was unimpressed with his vindictiveness”, was Ian’s pithy remark about the great man. Earlier, Ian had a fallout with Bradman during the 1970s when he was leading South Australia and the latter was the chief selector of the side, over the selection of a cricketer from Pakistan.

Ian’s exit from the press box will undoubtedly leave behind a void, both in terms of intelligent observations as well as colourful statements. But since he has made up his mind that it was time to “put down the pen and pack up the computer”, one must respect this decision and stand aside to doff one’s hat.

Well played Ian! You played your second innings with the same intensity and gusto as when you used to walk to the middle with the bat in hand in your playing days.  We will miss your debonair presence and words of wisdom.