As a writer and broadcaster, Chappell has always been every bit as forthright as he was as a player, never suffering fools and often getting to the nub of issues where others are prepared to blather inconsequentially.
Chappell has always expressed a preference for the written word over his commentary work for Nine and broadcasters around the cricket world. “In television you’ve got so many other blokes putting in their bit,” he said.
As a prolific columnist, Chappell holds the increasingly rare distinction among players of having completely resisted the blunt hand of a ghostwriter. In the early 1970s, magazine editor Eric Beecher granted him six weeks’ grace before deciding whether any intervention was necessary and a follow-up discussion never eventuated.
“I think if you’re going to take the cheque you should write the column,” Chappell told the Guardian.
Without his long-time television offsiders Richie Benaud, Lawry and Tony Greig, Chappell is now an oddity hemmed into the jocular, frat-party atmosphere of the Nine commentary box, and also a lone wolf in the credibility stakes.
Unperturbed, many of his sharpest takes on the game are now seen in the more cerebral, open-ended and engaging Google+ video blogs he does for Cricinfo, where he’s taken on a Yoda-like quality and proved that you can teach an old dog new tricks. There’s something appealing about watching Chappell, free from the constraints of commercial TV, exchanging ideas with a new generation of fans via webcam with a nondescript study as his backdrop.
Chappell has always known his own mind, making him one of the most engaging pundits in the business. In the early 90s he was asked by a journalist whether everything he was saying was on the record. Chappell responded bluntly, “Mate, if I don’t want you to fucking quote me on something, I won’t fucking say it.”
No great fan of the defensive captaincy style of India’s MS Dhoni, Chappell made headlines last year for his refusal to suppress his strong views when offered a commentary post for the seven-game one-day series between India and Australia.
Invited by ESPN to call the series, Chappell was nonplussed once he found out he would be subject to editorial restrictions by the home board. “I couldn’t talk about Indian selection, DRS or administrative matters,”Chappell said. “I responded saying I didn’t feel I could do my job properly under those circumstances and therefore declined the offer.”
His spot was filled by the more malleable Matthew Hayden.
His views remain pungent and ever-quotable. Last year he told The Cricketer, “If you want to know how to run cricket, have a look at what England do, do the opposite and you’ll be fairly close to the mark.”
Asked for his thoughts on the cult of the baggy green, Chappell replied, “It’s a five-dollar piece of cloth. Now it’s given this huge fanfare. That’s bullshit. Bill Lawry used to use it to clean out the loft and it was covered in pigeon droppings.”
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